Dean Thomas and the Curse of Jumanji
by pmraptor98
Summary: Fred and George ask Dean and Seamus to hold on to something they stole from Filch's office - a curious little box that drums.
1. Chapter 1: A Humble Request

Dense cloud cover shadows the dormitory in a typical Scottish gloom. Seamus contemplates whether or not to light a candle to give them some more light as they move later into the afternoon, toward the evening. The candles should be lighting themselves just about now, but Seamus is straining his eyes to make out the text of _Unfogging the Future_. The section on tasseomancy lists a number of symbols and their respective meanings, though how anyone should be able to deduce a single one of these out of a bunch of tea leaves is beyond him.

The stale silence of the dorm is broken by Dean, sitting across from Seamus. "I'm starting to think Hermione and McGonagall were right. This really does all seem like a bunch of rubbish."

"I dunno," Seamus says running a hand through his unkempt, sandy hair. "It made sense when Trelawney was doing it. And Lavender and Parvati seem not to have a problem."

"Yeah, that just makes me question it even more," Dean says, earning a laugh from Seamus. "What do you think, move on to something else? We still have Lupin's essay to get through."

Seamus sighs. "Right. Yeah, I guess we can always just fudge this if we need to."

"I doubt Trelawney would know the difference," Dean says.

As Seamus and Dean begin to put their divination books aside and pull out their notes from Defense Against the Dark Arts, they hear a pair of footsteps approaching the dormitory at a quick pace. Not long after, Fred and George Weasley poke their heads around the doorframe, searching the room until they spot Seamus and Dean by the window. "Ah, perfect! Just who we were hoping to see!"

The two fifth year twins stride into the room, looking suspiciously. George walks somewhat awkwardly, doing his best to conceal something large beneath his robes. Unsure of just what's going on, Seamus asks, "What are you two on about now?"

Approaching the two, Fred says, "We find ourselves in need of some…assistance."

"Oh great, what did you two do this time?" Dean asks, turning to face them in his chair.

Fred's face makes an expression of mock surprise. "Why, Dean Thomas, we are shocked and chagrinned!"

"Mortified and stupefied!" George says, imitating his twin.

"How could you possibly sink so low as to accuse George and I of some kind of…wrong-doing!?"

Dean and Seamus smirk at each other. "Alright then," Seamus says innocently. "What do you need help with?"

George clears his throat. "Fred and I have – rather unexpectedly – come into the possession of a…unique artifact. We were wondering if you'd be interested in holding onto it for a while."

"Why?" Dean asks.

"Because it just so happens that we found this unusual object in a cozy little corner of Filch's office," Fred answers.

Both Seamus and Dean roll their eyes. Seamus asks, "Oh why'd you have to go and nick something else from him? It just makes him angrier at the rest of us."

"This time it was different," Fred says. "We just _had_ to take this thing."

"Why?" Seamus asks.

Fred looks at George, who says, "Well…this one…this one, sort of…called to us."

Looking even more confused, Dean and Seamus both go, "Huh?"

"Okay, so, there we were," George says, setting the scene, "trying to sneak into the Prefect's bathroom to steal Percy's Head Boy badge, when Mrs. Norris comes right around the corner with Filch in tow. So of course he drags us back to his office to write us up."

Fred continues. "Not long after we get there, one of the house elves shows up complaining about Peeves harassing them in the kitchens. So he tells us to stay put, and he heads off to go deal with everyone's favorite poltergeist."

Fred hands it over to George. "We were just sitting there at first, perfectly innocent – really! – but after a few minutes, we both start to hear this… sort of… drumming sound."

"Drumming?" Dean asks.

"Yeah," George says. "It was soft and slow at first," he says, tapping his knuckles slowly on the table, "but it got louder and faster the more time went on," and he switches to pounding the table frantically. "We follow the drumming to a corner in Filch's office, and we found this," George finishes, pulling out something big and rectangular from underneath his robes.

Setting it down on the table in front of them, it first appears to be a small wooden box or case. The top is emblazoned with a distinctive combination of images. The foreground is obscured by numerous ferns that sit in front of a background dominated by a huge river winding between smoking mountain tops. The scene is framed by ornate, hand carved designs, and the four corners each bear an egg-shaped border. Within the upper left hand corner is the snarling face of on older man, a pith helmet hanging over his brow. To the right, a gracile monkey sits in the branches of a tree, its long tail curling behind it. Below the monkey, an elephant's head peers outside the fame, it's trunk curling inward toward its wide, flat ear. And lastly, the bulky skull of a rhinoceros, with its horn pointing proudly upwards.

Through the very center, a series of letters spell out a single word, with a spear running through the middle. Seamus reads the word aloud.

"Jumanji?"

Examining the box, Dean asks, "So what is it?"

"Well, obviously, it's Jumanji!" Fred says, as if addressing a two-year -old.

"And what is Jumanji, exactly?" Dean asks, with one eye brow raised.

"Yeah, no idea," Fred says with a shrug.

"There's a surprise," Dean says, crossing his arms. "So what are you gonna do with it?"

"Fred and I will find out what it is, and then put it to good use, I'm sure," George says confidently.

"Until then," Fred says, "We would be ever so grateful if one of you would just…you know, hold on to it for a while."

"What with, seeing as how Filch will no doubt have noticed it missing by now-"

"And seeing as how we were the only ones in his office at the time-"

"He will no doubt come to the conclusion that Fred and I stole it."

"Because you did steal it!" Seamus points out.

"Now Seamus, there's no need to harp on about unimportant details," Fred says, ignoring him. "And also seeing as we are already quite high on McGonagall's shit list for trying to flush a puffskein down the toilet – don't ask – we're doing our best to avoid getting into trouble."

"Well…" George says, cocking his head to one side, "doing our best to avoid getting caught at any rate…"

"So you want us to hide it for you, in case Filch or McGonagall comes snooping around the dormitory?" Dean asks.

"Good to know you can listen," George says with a sly smile.

"Why would we do that?" Seamus asks, groaning slightly. "We barely even know you. You're not even in our year!"

"Precisely!" George points out. "That's the whole point! Why would Filch or McGonagall ever suspect either of you of helping us? You have no reason to whatsoever!"

"Well, right!" Dean says, as if Fred and George are missing something obvious. "We have no reason to help you, so why would we?"

"Oh, Dean, Dean, Dean," Fred says, kneeling down and putting his arm around Dean's shoulders. "Surely you can find it within yourself to look deep into your heart, at the inherent goodness and generosity that all-"

"I'm not doing it," Dean says firmly.

"Right then, what do you want?" Fred says, dropping the air of friendliness and standing back up.

"What?" Dean asks.

"Well, you're not going to do it out of the kindness of your hearts," George says. "So I guess we'll have to turn this beautiful act of altruism into a banal bartering of favors. What do you want?"

Before Dean can say anything, Seamus blurts out, "Five galleons.'

"Oh get stuffed, Finnegan," Fred says. "We haven't got that kind of gold!"

"The hell you don't," Seamus says. "I saw it in the Prophet, your family won 700 galleons!"

"Should have read the whole thing," George says growing defensive. "Most of that gold is already gone. We went to visit our brother, Bill, in Egypt. You think _we_ got any of that gold?"

"Well, I'm not doing it for free," Seamus says firmly. "Five galleons."

Both Fred and George narrow their eyes at him before looking at each other for a brief moment. "One galleon," Fred says.

"Four," Seamus says.

"Two," George says.

"Done." Seamus says with a smile.

Neither Fred nor George seems overjoyed with the arrangement, but they both nod. "Alright. Now, like we said, we don't' have that kind of money right now, so give us some time to come up with it, yeah?"

"Alright," Seamus says. "Tell ya what. I'll hang on to it, and I'll give it back to you when you give me the gold."

"Deal," Fred and George say, both extending their right hands to finalize the arrangement. Once finished, Fred says, "Right, now if you'll excuse us, we're going to make like we've been in the Great Hall this whole time."

Once the twins are gone, Dean turns to Seamus and asks, "What are you playing at?"

"What?" Seamus asks as if nothing's wrong. "They're right, no one would think we did it. Why would McGonagall or Filch look through my things? Besides, that first Hogsmeade visit is coming up, and I want to make sure I have plenty of money to go shopping."

"Fine," Dean says, sitting back in his chair. "But if you get caught, don't you go dragging me into anything."

"Oh quit worrying. Everything's going to be just fine."

Dean decides to leave the matter alone as Seamus picks up the wooden box and stows it in his trunk. Getting back to their school work, they manage to make substantial progress on Professor Lupin's essay on boggarts, a clear result of Lupin's superior teaching methods, far greater than those of Professor Trelawney. A few more people pop in as they work; Neville Longbottom comes in to check on his toad, and Harry Potter and Ron Weasley wander through, Ron complaining rather loudly about Hermione Granger's new cat, Crookshanks.

Once Dean and Seamus feel that they've made sufficient progress on their school work, they head down to the Great Hall for dinner. Joining their fellow third years at the Gryffindor table, Seamus and Dean both take a plate of meat pies and mashed potatoes while they discuss everything from the upcoming school quidditch season to the recently-escaped mass murderer, Sirius Black. Down the table, they catch Fred and George chatting with Angelina Johnson. They can't tell exactly, but it appears as though the twins are very actively trying not to look at them.

About a half hour into dinner, Seamus catches sight of the haggard, sour-faced caretaker, Mr. Filch, hobbling over to the staff table to speak to Professor McGonagall. At first, she appears largely disinterested, but Seamus notices a quick change in her demeanor after Filch gives his piece. She straightens up and shoots a lethal pair of daggers at Fred and George, who are doing their best not to look in her direction.

Seamus lowers his gaze back to his plate. Leaning over close to Dean, he whispers, "Look out. McGonagall's on the war path."

Dean glances over his shoulder, only to quickly look back down as McGonagall races past him, straight toward Fred and George. Seamus and Dean feel McGonagall's cloak billowing behind them as she makes her way to the twins. They do their best not to look as she approaches Fred and George and begins viciously scolding them for taking something from Filch's office, which they deny with surprisingly convincing innocence. Not believing them for a second, she pulls them up by the collars of their robes and demands to look through their belongings.

When all three are gone, Dean whispers to Seamus, "I hope you know what you're doing…"

"Oh shut it," Seamus hisses to him. Seamus' face goes slightly pale, and his voice doesn't seem nearly as confident as it was back in their dormitory.

Once dinner is finished, Seamus and Dean make it back to Gryffindor Tower, praying that they don't run into McGonagall on their way. But as they make it past the portrait of the Fat Lady, through the common room, and back into their dormitory, there's no sign of her anywhere. Instead, a joyous Fred and George are there to greet them.

"Ah! Welcome back, gents!" Fred says with a low bow. "Had a nice dinner?"

"I take it McGonagall didn't find it?" Seamus says hopefully.

George shakes his head. "Nope! She searched both of our things, and even Ron and Harry's, but she never even so much as suspected either of you!"

"Why would she search Ron and Harry's things?" Seamus asks.

"Well, Ron's because he is – for better or worse – family," Fred says.

"And Harry because he's _like_ family _._ And of course because he's no stranger to getting into trouble," George says.

"But you two," Fred says, "Are so utterly unremarkable, that even the idea that you might have it never so much as crossed her mind!"

"Hey now, what's that supposed to mean?" Dean asks, sounding affronted.

"Well no offense to either of you," Fred says, "But as far as third year Gryffindor boys go, you kind of just fade into the background."

"What with the famous Harry Potter have saved the school on two separate occasions-," George says.

"Not to mention being a bang-up seeker and winning us the House Cup for the past two years-" Fred adds.

"And since Ron's his best mate-"

"For reasons we'll never understand-"

"And since Neville Longbottom – bless him – is good for a laugh once in awhile-"

"You two just don't really stand out in comparison, frankly," Fred finishes with a shrug.

"Which isn't a bad thing in the least," George adds, seeing a downtrodden look on Dean's face, "Sometimes it's better to go unnoticed. Makes it easier to get away with things, or avoid unnecessary drama."

"Yeah, we can tell you how hard it is, being well-known house quidditch players and infamous trouble makers," Fred says, unable to conceal the hint of bragging.

"Yeah, sure thing," Dean says, clearly unconvinced.

"Oh cheer up, mate," George says. "Once we get Seamus his gold, we'll take it back, and all four of us can put this whole thing behind us and get on with our lives. What do you say?"

Dean sighs a little and says, "Yeah alright. Just don't take too long."

"I'll say," Seamus adds.

Fred smile widely. "Wouldn't dream of it! Now gentlemen, we bid you goodnight-"

"And pleasant dreams," George adds, as they make for the common room.

As the night goes on, and Seamus and Dean prepare for bed as the rest of the third year boys return to the dormitory, Dean can't help but remember what Fred and George had said. _You just kind of fade into the background. Completely unremarkable_. Sitting in bed, he glances over at Harry Potter across the room, lying down and already trying to get to sleep. It did seem like extraordinary coincidence that Harry Potter had essentially saved the wizarding world from Lord Voldemort three times in his life by the age of thirteen. Was it truly random circumstance? Or was there something more at work? Either way, Dean can't help but feel just a twinge of envy over the subsequent attention and admiration that Harry received over their school career. A part of him – a reckless, vain part – wishes that he could be given the chance to face danger and save the day.

But he knows that's not likely to happen, so he resigns himself to a night's sleep. He lays his head down on his pillow, closes his eyes, and puts it out of his mind. But as the minutes pass by, and as Dean is close to sinking completely into slumber, something catches his hear. A soft, rhythmic drumming, like a steady constant heartbeat, seems to be coming from somewhere nearby. At first he wonders if it might be the beginnings of a dream, but Dean quickly realizes that it's coming from somewhere in the dormitory. He sits up in bed to try and find the source of the noise.

When he sits up, he sees that Seamus is also sitting up in the bed to his right. The two boys look at each other with confused expressions. "Do you hear that?" Seamus asks Dean in a soft voice.

"Yeah," Dean says with a nod. But as he looks around the room, none of the other boys in the dormitory seem to notice. All of them are still soundly asleep.

"What is it?" Seamus asks.

That's when Dean remembers what Fred and George had said before about a drumming sound in Filch's office. "Seamus…Seamus I think it's that thing, that box that Fred and George gave you to hide."

"What?" Seamus says, looking at his trunk.

"Yeah, remember what Fred and George said?" Dean says. "They heard a drumming sound coming from it."

But just as Dean finishes speaking, the drumming stops. "What'd you reckon that was about?"

Dean shakes his head. "I dunno."

"Eh forget it, let's just try to get some sleep," Seamus says, laying back down. Dean pauses for a moment, caught up in the sheer strangeness of what just happened. But eventually, he decides that Seamus has the right idea, and he lays his head back down on his pillow, soon drifting off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: The Tiny Army

At first, Dean hopes that he had dreamed the odd disturbance in the previous night, in which he and Seamus had awoken to the sound of drums. But not only does Seamus confirm that the event did happen, but the two of them once more hear the pounding beats as they prepare to head off for class. Stranger still, not Harry, Ron, nor Neville notice the sound despite being mere feet from it, even when Seamus asks them, "Do you hear that?"

All three respond with confused, "Nos?" wondering if Seamus is feeling alright.

But Seamus waves it off as nothing. As the two of them linger behind on their way to breakfast, Dean says, "Why can't they hear it?"

"No idea," Seamus says.

Seamus and Dean try to put it out of their minds as they sit down at the Gryffindor table at the Great Hall. Only just about finished with their first week of classes, there's already so much going on that it's easy to forget about the mysterious drums. Looking across the Great Hall, they see Draco Malfoy with a cast covering his right arm, a reminder of when he was slashed by a hippogriff during their very first Care of Magical Creatures Class (though everyone was sure the wound was completely healed by now, thanks to Madam Pomfrey).

Meanwhile, Lavender and Parvati continue to throw worried looks at Harry every time the Daily Prophet makes mention of Sirius Black, no doubt still committed to Trelawney's prophecy regarding his impending death. The only ones who don't seem concerned at all with the prospect are Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who are busy discussing what will happen to Hagrid after the hippogriff incident. They seem most worried that he'll be sacked. Less pressing to everyone is their History of Magic Class, headed by a teacher so monotonous that he could people them to death (which many figured is how he ended up a ghost in the first place).

The days' lessons come and go, with the typical fallout from student-teacher interactions, as well as a nasty visit from Peeves as he attempted to shoot wads of wet chewing gum at students' hair. When Dean and Seamus finally make it back to Gryffindor Tower, Seamus pulls out his trunk and opens it up to reveal the wooden carved surface of the enigmatic box. He pulls it out to get a better look. "Want to bring it down into the Common Room?"

"I don't know," Dean says. "I don't want to draw any attention. What if McGonagall comes in?"

"McGonagall almost never comes into the Common Room," Seamus contends. "Come on, we'll sit in the corner by that tapestry with the unicorn. If McGonagall or anyone shows up, we'll just stow it behind the curtains. No one'll ever know."

"Hmmm…oh, alright. But remember, if we get caught-" Dean says.

"Yeah, yeah, it's all my fault, whatever, come on!" Seamus says, carrying the box downstairs to the Common Room. At the moment, there's no one else in the there apart from Lavender and Parvati, who are contemplating yet more tea leaves and trying to see what, if anything, they can divine to add to their gossip.

When Lavender catches sight of Seamus, she smiles and waves at him. Returning her smile with a somewhat awkward one of his own, Seamus waves as well. Lavender says, "Hey guys."

"Hey," both Seamus and Dean say quietly.

"What are you guys doing?" Lavender asks.

"Nothing really, just…you know, stuff," Dean says, doing his best to be vague.

"What's that?" Parvati asks, pointing to the box in Seamus' hands.

"Uh…" Seamus says, trying to think of a reasonable lie, "It's nothing. Just something I brought from home, wanted to show Dean."

"Well, what is it?" Parvati asks. She and Lavender can sense that they are hiding something, and it only makes them more curious. They both stand up and make their way toward the boys. "Come on, let me see," she says.

Seamus pulls away for a brief second before realizing how suspicious that looks. "Uhhh…..well, here let's set it down on the table first." The four of them go over to a small table by the curtains in a far corner of the tower, and Seamus sets the box down.

Lavender and Parvati both examine the cover curiously. "Jumanji?" Lavender says aloud. "What is it?"

"Well… we're not entirely sure…" Dean says.

Lavender and Parvati look at him curiously. "How can you not know what it is?" Parvati asks with a giggle.

"Oh shut up," Dean snap at her. Though Parvati doesn't appreciate the remark, Dean doesn't notice because something catches his eye. The flickering light from the fireplace shines off of a pair of golden hinges on the front and back sides of the case. Feeling them with his finger, he comes to a quick realization. He places his hands on either side of the box, away from the hinges, and pulls gently.

Something snaps softly as the top splits in half vertically down the middle, and Dean pulls apart two flaps that reveal the inside. The other three watch interested as the flaps are flattened to the sides. Both of the flaps' interiors are covered in writing, while the center is covered in four winding, crisscrossing paths, each broken up into square spaces. Each path starts in a corner before leading to the center; a perfectly black circle.

"Oooohhh," Seamus says. "It's a board game!"

Dean takes a look at the writing on the left hand flap. Reading aloud, he says:

" _Jumanji: a game for those who seek to find  
A way to leave their world behind_

 _You roll the dice to move your token, doubles gets another turn, and the first player to reach the end wins."_

"What about this part?" Lavender says, pointing to the opposite flap, which is written upside down compared to the other. She reads:

" _Adventurers Beware: Do not begin unless you intend to finish.  
The exciting consequences of the game  
will vanish only once a player has reached Jumanji  
And called out its name_."

"'Exciting Consequences'" Seamus repeats. "What'd you reckon that means?"

"Dunno," Dean says, pondering the words to himself.

"It is magical, isn't it?" Lavender asks.

"It's definitely magic," Dean says with a nod. "It makes a drumming sound that only certain people can hear."

"Really?" Lavender says interested. "Hmm…maybe it's like gobstones, where it does something to you if you lose?"

"So, you guys wanna play?" Seamus asks.

"What?" Dean asks, surprised. "No, no way."

"Why not?" Seamus asks.

"We have no idea what this thing is!" Dean says. "What if it's dangerous?"

Lavender and Parvati giggle. "Dean, it's a board game," Lavender says.

"That second part is obviously a warning," Dean says. "What if these exciting consequences are actually really dangerous?"

"Oh come on," Parvati says. "That's just to make it more dramatic. Bertie Botts beans come with a warning too, that doesn't make them dangerous.

As Dean continues to object, Seamus rummages through a small compartment on the right flap and pulls out four tokens. "Take a look at these," he says, passing them around. The four small figures are caved in great detail, each into the shape of a different animal: an elephant, a rhinoceros, a monkey, and a crocodile. But as Seamus hands the rhinoceros to Lavender, she drops it onto the game board. Before she can reach down to pick it up, it shudders slightly and then skids toward a corner of the board, standing up straight on its base.

"Oh," Lavender says with a shrug and a smile, "That makes things easier."

Out of curiosity, Seamus and Parvati drop their tokens on the board as well – the monkey and the crocodile respectively. They do as the rhino did, bouncing slightly before skidding over to a corner of the board, standing in place. "Come on, Dean," Seamus says. "One game couldn't hurt."

Taking a deep breath, Dean drops his elephant on the game board, which assumes the final position. "Alright. But if anything happens, I blame all of you."

"Yeah, yeah, shut up and roll," Seamus says, handing him a pair of aged dice.

Dean takes the dice and casually rolls them on the board, rolling a three. The small elephant figure slides forward three spaces on its own. Noting the 'exciting consequences' mentioned on the inside flap, the four of them sit in anticipation waiting for something to happen. When it appears that nothing is going to happen, Parvati says, "Well, that's a bit disappointing. Who's going next?"

"Wait," Dean says, holding up a hand before anyone can claim the next turn. He leans forward, looking at the black circle in the center. "Look here."

They all look at the center as a greenish yellow mist begins to materialize from the darkness. It condenses to form words, which gather together to form sentences. Dean reads the text aloud:

" _A tiny army's  
on the path.  
Beware their angry  
biting wrath."_

Dean, Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati all look up and exchange confused looks. "I don't get it," Lavender says.

"Maybe it's broken," Seamus muses. "God only knows how many years it was sitting in Filch's office before-"

"Seamus!" Dean says, swatting him across the back of the head.

Both Parvati and Lavender shoot them excited looks and go, "Ooooooo," like two monkeys. "What did you guys do?" Lavender asks, excited for some dirt.

Seamus look almost constipated , regretting the fact that inadvertently blabbed. "I uh….okay, listen, you guys can't tell anyone about this okay?"

"Not sure how much good that'll do…" Dean says, looking to one side.

Lavender looks affronted. "Are you saying I can't keep a secret?"

"Lavender, come on, when you get a piece of gossip, the whole castle finds out," Dean says.

Lavender is about to respond, but is interrupted when Parvati lets out a terrific scream that causes the other three to flinch. "EW EW EW EW OH MY GOD, EW EW EW…" she says, looking down and leaping out of her seat.

"What, what is it?" Dean asks.

"There's an ant!" Parvati says, her voice shaking.

"Oh my god, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew," Lavender says, mimicking Parvati without even seeing the insect in question.

"So much for 'where dwell the brave at heart,'" Dean says, rolling his eyes.

Seamus goes around to see the offending arthropod for himself. "Oi, Dean!" he says in a voice both excited and disgusted. "There's a whole bunch of them, and they're huge!"

"What?" Dean says, going over to take a look. Seamus was not exaggerating: by ant standards these are indeed huge. Each one average over an inch in length. A far cry from little picnic ants, these have wide, square-shaped heads bearing a savage pair of pincers. With no eyes to speak of, their antennae twitch frantically as they scurry from one spot to the next.

"AAHH!" Seamus shouts, hopping backwards from the ants.

"What?" Lavender asks. Seamus pulls up his pant leg to reveal one of the ants sitting on his ankle, his skin seized by the ant's jaws. Lavender backs away with her eyes covering her face, "Oh my god, that's so gross!"

"Ah, Jesus!" Dean says, feeling a sharp pain in his calf. Curling up his pants, he finds an ant biting into the skin on his leg. "Get off!" he shouts pointlessly at the ant as he tries to brush it off. The ant's jaws act as a vice-like anchor. Dean decides to pull the ant off instead. Wrapping his finger tips around its body, he pulls at it – only for the body to detach from the rest of the ant, its mouth parts still firmly in place. "Are you kidding me!?"

More painful pricks alert Dean and Seamus to more ants crawling up their legs and clamping down on their flesh. Seeing what's happening to the boys, Lavender and Parvati dash out of the Common Room through the portrait of the Fat Lady, who calls back to them, "Where's the fire?" as they hurry past.

Seamus and Dean struggle to get away as the biting agony grows more and more prominent. But they are driven on as ants continue to crawl into the Common Room by the hundreds through the gaps in the stone walls with no end in sight. As they stumble out of the portrait hole, they turn back to face the Fat Lady. "Listen," Dean says, squinting through the pain. "You can't let anyone else into Gryffindor Tower!"

"Humph," the Fat Lady says indignantly. "And why ever not?" But before they can answer her, she begins to giggle. "Oh my…sorry boys, I…oh dear…something's….something's tickling me!" As she continues to giggle like a school girl, Dean and Seamus see ants crawling through the crease between her frame and the entrance. The instant she sees the ants, she stops giggling. "Oh dear goodness!" she cries out, leaping up and down in her portrait. "Somebody stop them! Somebody stop them!"

"What on earth is going on!" the voice of Percy Weasley cries as he strides briskly toward Dean, Seamus and the Fat Lady. "Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil just ran past me shrieking to high heaven!" It doesn't take him long at all to see the procession of ants marching through the portrait. "Merlin's Beard!" he cries, backing up swiftly as the line of ants head directly toward him. He doesn't shuffle away quickly enough though, as a few ants make it onto his shoes and up his legs. "I-agh….must inform…ouch, ouch…Professor Mc-AGH!...Professor McGonagall at once!"

For several hours, the ants march through the castle in a vaguely linear path, attacking anything that gets in their way. By the time the staff are alerted to the problem, the ants have already made it down to the sixth floor, having attacked several students along the way, including Oliver Wood, two Hufflepuff first years, Pansy Parkinson, Penelope Clearwater, and Cho Chang. They all report to Madam Pomfrey, who tries everything she can think of to dislodge the decapitated ant heads. In the end, she relies on a muscle-relaxing topical cream to force the ant jaws to let go.

The first attempt to dispatch the encroaching insects comes from Professor Flitwick, who tries burning them, only for this to prove completely ineffective. After Flitwick fails, Professor Snape tries his hand at cursing the insects, slashing at the swarm with his wand, though this also does nothing to halt their progress. The last attempt is by Professor Sprout, who tries out an until-then-reliable pest-control hex.

The ants continue through the castle. By the time the last of the swarm leaves Gryffindor tower, the ghosts count roughly 50 million of them. While they storm the corridors, the staff evacuates the student body outside the castle as they wait for the ants to either be dealt with or until they leave Hogwarts of their own accord. As the situation unfolds, the students bicker and gossip about what exactly is happening, and who – or what – is responsible.

"Is this another one of Fred and George's pranks?"

"I'll be it was that oaf, Hagrid. God knows what horrible creatures he's brought into the country."

"Could it have been Sirius Black?"

Somewhere in the throngs of chattering students, Dean, Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati are all unusually quiet. A few of their fellow Gryffindors try to engage them on the subject, but they simply respond with unenthused 'yeahs' and 'I know, rights?' With all of the students and staff gathered by the shores of the lake, they wonder when they'll be able to go back to their dormitories, even as the hours pass by one by one.

Finally, around 11:30, the heads of houses all approach their students. Speaking to the Gryffindors, Professor McGonagall says, "Your attention, please. The ghosts have informed us that the last of the ants have left the castle, and are now heading toward the Forbidden Forest. We will now escort you back to your dormitories, where you will all immediately go to bed. No exceptions, and no questions at this time, please. Though please note that you will still be responsible for any homework that you have due tomorrow," she finishes sternly, to many disappointed groans.

As the students begin filling back into the castle behind their heads of houses, Dean leans in very close to Seamus and says, "What do we do now?"

"Shh!" Seamus hisses, thinking he sees Percy trying to eavesdrop. After they put some distance between themselves and the head boy, Seamus says in a hushed voice, "No one will notice the game board if everyone just goes to bed. We'll wait til everyone else is asleep, and then I'll go down to the Common Room. I'll shove it into the bottom of my trunk and we'll never speak of it again."

"What about Fred and George?" Dean asks.

"I'll just tell them I lost it," Seamus says, trying to wave the concern off. "I'd rather face off against a cross Fred and George Weasley than an angry McGonagall."

"That's assuming they believe you, which they almost certainly won't," Dean hisses at him.

"Then you take it," Seamus says, growing frustrated.

"The hell I will," Dean says. "You're daft if you think I'm going anywhere near that thing again."

"You think I want to get close to it?" Seamus says resentfully.

"Oh no you don't," Dean says. "This is all on you, remember? Taking that thing was your idea."

"Damn," Seamus curses quietly, knowing full well that Dean is right. "Maybe I can try to convince Neville to hold to it for awhile."

"Yeah, and then what?" Dean asks.

"Then…then, I don't know, maybe we can toss it in the lake. Let the giant squid play with it," Seamus says.

Dean is sure the plan will change in time, but as they climb up the shifting staircase, he realizes he's too tired to object. There'd be plenty of time to figure out a better plan once the game is stowed safely in Seamus' trunk, and they get a good night's sleep. When the herd of Gryffindor students approaches the Fat Lady with Professor McGonagall at the head, she doesn't even bother waiting for the password, looking just as exhausted as all of them. Professor McGonagall turns to the students and says, "Alright everybody, off to bed," she says sternly. As she leaves them to make their way to their dormitories, Percy stands by the entrance to Gryffindor Tower looking pompous and full of himself as he barks at them all to go to sleep.

Thankfully for Seamus and Dean, it doesn't take everyone long to fall asleep since it's past midnight by the time they're ready for bed, and the whole ordeal has left everyone extremely tired. Seamus and Dean lay down in their four-posters, waiting for everyone around them to go fall unconscious. They know that it's safe when they hear loud snoring coming from both Ron and Neville's beds, but just to make sure, Seamus whispers loudly into the dormitory, "Hey…anyone still awake?"

When nobody answers, Dean says to Seamus, "Alright, now go down and get it."

Before Seamus can do anything, however, a sound fills both of their ears: a steady, deep drumming. It sends a cold prickling sensation across the surface of their skin. Once again, there's no sign that any of the other boys in the room can hear this. "I don't want to go!" Seamus whispers.

"You have to!" Dean hisses to him. "You can't just leave it there! What if someone else finds it?"

"Then let them get in trouble for it!" Seamus says.

"You're acting like a stupid, cowardly git!" Dean says harshly, his voice rising above a whisper. "If someone else finds it, then something even worse might happen. Someone might get hurt... really hurt! Besides, if someone else found it, and something bad happened, they'd turn it over to McGonagall, who would trace it back to Fred and George, who would then pass the blame on to you. Now get off your arse and get it!"

Seamus clearly looks guilty. "Well…can you come with me at least? Please?"

Dean doesn't answer immediately. He has serious apprehensions about approaching the mysterious board game, but it is for this very reason that he can sympathize with Seamus. "Alright," he says, "But I'm not touching it."

"Okay," Seamus says.

Together, the two boys descend the stairs to the Common Room and make their way to the corner where they had played. In their haste, the table and chairs were turned over, and the game board had fallen behind the curtains. Gulping, Seamus approaches the game tentatively, even as the drumming grows faster and louder. As if about to touch a hot stove, Seamus' hands hover over the upturned board. In a quick motion, he darts forward and grabs it, pulling it up and holding it upside down. The pieces are still in place, hanging in the exact same positions they had been when the ants attacked.

"Don't forget the dice," Dean says, picking up the two dice and setting them back in the small compartment. Once everything's in place, Seamus closes the game, which continues to drum even as they climb back up the stairs.

"Right," Seamus whispers harshly, "In you go!" He shoves the game inside his trunk, burying it underneath all of his other possessions. "You won't be bothering anyone else again!"


	3. Chapter 3: Confessions

"AAAAHHHHH!"

Ron's scream wakes everyone in the boys' dormitory, as well as a few in the girls'. Afraid that the ants might have returned, everyone pulls their legs up onto their beds, worried that they might be bitten. "Is it the ants?" Harry asks Ron in a voice filled with both bewilderment and grogginess.

"IS IT SIRIUS BLACK?" Neville asks, shielding his eyes with his hands.

But Ron ignores them both. "Scabbers!"

The boys all look at Ron, kneeling on the floor looking absolutely defeated. Tears are streaming down his swollen, red cheeks. Right in front of him, just a few feet away is a small skeleton colored blood red, with little bits of muscle and fur still clinging to the bones. The sight causes all of the other boys to cringe, but Ron looks utterly heartbroken.

Another scream breaks the tension, this time from Neville, "AHHHH! TRVEOR!" Another bloody skeleton sits halfway under Neville's four poster bed, this one with the wide skull and long back legs of a toad. The handiwork of the ants makes itself even more apparent when the boys all make it downstairs and see a stark white Hermione Granger sobbing into a handkerchief. Nobody had to ask that this had to do with her new cat, Crookshanks.

Dean and Seamus both feel totally guilty , and exchange sullen looks with each other. When they get down to breakfast, Lavender and Parvati sit down in front of them, leaning forward to get close. Lavender says, "Parvati and I heard something last night. None of the other girls heard it, but it sounded-"

"Like drums?" Seamus finishes.

Out of sheer shock, Lavender reaches over and punches his shoulder lightly. "You heard it too!"

"We heard it," Dean says.

"Why does it do that?" Parvati asks.

"I dunno," Seamus says, "And I don't care. That thing is buried at the bottom of my trunk, and hopefully soon it will be sitting at the bottom of the lake." Dean says nothing, but he seriously doubts that it will be that simple.

Their first lesson of the day is Herbology, which the Gryffindor third years go into with a dark, somber air. Most of the class - especially Ron, Neville, and Hermione – are happy to begin the tedious work of picking honey berries and bathing them in acid. At first, Seamus, Dean, Lavender, and Parvati get on with the work well, until about 20 minutes in. All four of them simultaneously begin to hear something, quiet and distant at first, but which grows louder, faster, and closer as the minutes pass. They all exchange knowing, frightened looks.

The drumming keeps growing louder and louder in their ears. It soon becomes impossible to focus on their work, or to even hear anyone regardless of how close or loud they are. This is why they don't hear Professor Sprout call out to Seamus to be careful as he accidentally bumps into one of the cauldrons full of acid, which spills out onto a nearby grove of venomous tentacula. The entire class jumps in alarm as the venomous plants shake their tendrils to rid themselves of the acid.

"15 points from Gryffindor," Professor Sprout says, "Now clean it up, Finnegan!"

But Seamus can't hear her, the pounding drums too deep and loud for him to make out anything of what she says. He clamps his hands to his ears and calls out, "I CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING!"

"What?" Professor Sprout asks him superfluously. Around her, Dean, Lavender, and Parvati also cover their ears as the drums begin to pound against the insides of their heads. Confused looks begin appearing on the faces of the entire class, and Professor Sprout calls out, "What on earth is wrong with you all?"

"CAN'T… HEAR…" Lavender says, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Professor Sprout moves from anger to confusion to concern in mere seconds. "Oh dear… I wonder if this has something to do with those sharov spores from last week. Uh, why don't you all head off to the hospital wing?" This suggestion is all but useless of course, so instead she spells out the words with her wand. Not needing any more prodding, Dean, Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati all rush out of the greenhouse toward the hospital wing.

But as they re-enter the castle, all of a sudden, the drums stop. The four of them come to an instant halt and look at one another. Lavender is the first to speak. "Wha-…what happened?"

"It's that bloody game!" Seamus says, clutching his wand with a balled fist.

"Why is it doing this?" Parvati asks.

"Because we tried to hide it," Dean says. The other three look at him, hoping he has more answers. "Don't you see? We started a game, then we stopped. Remember what it said – do not begin unless you intend to finish."

"Oh no," Lavender says, burying her face in her hands. "Are you saying we have to keep playing, or else that…that game will keep making that horrid noise?!"

"It says so right in those rules," Dean says hopelessly.

"Well…well, we can't keep playing," Parvati says. "Who knows what else might appear?"

"We have to go to McGonagall!" Lavender says. "Maybe there's some way to fix it?"

"Yes! Let's go to McGonagall!" Parvati says, nodding rigorously.

Both Dean and Seamus look at one another uncomfortably. Seamus says, "Well…I dunno…"

Lavender storms right up to him, getting only inches from his face. "Well why the bloody hell not?"

Seamus sighs and says, "Alright, long story short, Fred and George nicked it from Filch's office a few days ago and gave it to us to hide it for them. If McGonagall learns that we hid this-"

But Lavender cuts him off. "You listen to me, Seamus Finnegan. You and Dean are going to come with us to McGonagall's office, and you're going to tell her exactly how you two gnome-heads started all this rubbish! If you don't, then you won't have to worry about that game ruining your life!" she finishes, pulling out her wand shaving less than an inch from his nose.

The four of them move along the first floor corridor, moving to the right of the serpentine corridor as they make their way to the entrance to Professor McGonagall's office. They stand by the door, hovering wearily for a few moments. It's only when Lavender holds up her wand threateningly that Seamus manages to work up the courage to knock on the door.

"Enter," Professor McGonagall's voice calls stiffly from the other side. Seamus opens the door and leads the other three inside. Dean is about a foot behind Seamus, while Lavender and Parvati hang back behind them. Professor McGonagall looks up from the books she's reading to look at them. When she recognizes who they are, she considers them sternly. "Mr. Finnegan? Mr. Thomas? Ms.' Brown and Patil? What are you doing here?"

Seamus looks back nervously at Dean who nods at him to go on. When Seamus looks at Lavender and Parvati, they do not offer any signs of support. "Well…" Seamus begins slowly.

"Out with it, Finnegan," Professor McGonagall snaps at him.

"Professor, we… we have a, uh…we have a bit of a problem," Seamus says sheepishly.

"Oh? And what problem is this that you would come to me in the middle of your scheduled lesson?" Professor McGonagall says in a voice that mixes curiosity with irritation.

Seamus takes a moment to find the best place to begin. "Well…do you remember a couple days ago when Mr. Filch told you that Fred and George Weasley took something from his office?"

Professor McGonagall eyes him from behind her square-framed spectacles. "I do," she says simply.

Clenching his teeth tightly, Seamus continues. "They asked Dean and me to hide it for them until they'd been searched…"

A sharp glint flashes over Professor McGonagall's probing eyes. It is so effective that it causes Seamus to swallow. Taking a moment to mull over the situation as she chews her tongue, Professor McGonagall says to him, "While I am grateful that you… _eventually_ did the right thing, I do not see why this matter is so important that it could not wait until after class."

"There's… there's more," Seamus says meekly. Professor McGonagall raises her eyebrows, instructing him to keep going. "The thing they took…it's a…well, we th-…it was some kind of… some kind of board game. Dean, Lavender, Parvati and I started playing the game, and then…we weren't sure at first, we didn't know how it... we thought it might have even been broken but… well, when Dean took his first turn… we think that's where the ants came from."

The last few words slip from his mouth swiftly, but not swiftly enough to be missed by Professor McGonagall. Shaking slightly, she clutches the edge of her desk and pulls herself to her feet. "Are you telling me," she begins in a horrifyingly quiet voice, "that that swarm of flesh-eating ants that swept through the castle last night was caused by you four?"

"It wasn't our fault!" Lavender blurts out, all eyes suddenly on her. "Parvati and I were doing our homework when Seamus and Dean came down into the Common Room with that thing! Seamus told us that he brought it from home!"

"This is absolutely outrageous!" Professor McGonagall says, slamming a fist down on the desk. "Do you have any idea the damage those ants have done to the school!? How many portraits they've ruined?! How many students' pets they've eaten?! You…idiots have put the entire school into harm's way and disrupted the entire learning process! I would never imagine students in my house would be so recklessly irresponsible!" Her voice rises and falls in swells of outrage followed by minor calms that highlight her anger.

None of them can work up the nerve to say anything at first for fear of invoking her wrath. Finally, Dean manages to pipe up, "Please, Professor. It was all Seamus and me. Lavender and Parvati had no idea where we got it, they thought we were just playing a game-"

"Silence!" she roars at him. More tense quiet fills the room as she eyes each one of them with varying levels of suspicion and fury. "Let me see that I understand this," Professor McGonagall says in as calm a voice as she can muster. "The Weasley boys came to you two," she points at Dean and Seamus with her wand, "with an item that they told you they had stolen from Mr. Filch. Now, instead of informing myself of this, you agreed to hide it for them. And then, you decided to…investigate this object on your own, with absolutely no clue whatsoever about what it was, where it came from, or whether or not it might be dangerous? Is that correct?"

Dean and Seamus look away toward the floor and nod.

"And you also decided to involve Ms. Brown and Ms. Patil in this, lying to them about where the object came from?"

All of four of them nod this time.

"I shall have to speak to the Headmaster about this," she says, mostly to herself. "But make no mistake – this is an extremely serious infringement, and may very well be grounds to have you both expelled! Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Professor," Seamus and Dean both say in equally faint voices.

Professor McGonagall breathes deeply through her nose. "Well? Is there anything more you have to say?"

"Yes Professor," Seamus says.

Preparing for yet more of her own fury, Professor McGonagall says, "Well?"

"The game, it… it…it makes a sound. Like a drumming sound," Seamus says, very unsure of how best to describe it.

"Drumming sound? What is this nonsense?" Professor McGonagall snaps, her patience long since expired.

"The game drums," Dean says, "but only certain people…us four…can hear it. While we were in herbology, the drums became so loud that we couldn't hear anything else. We think….we think the game might have…cursed us."

Professor McGonagall has let out so much rage that it is already exhausting her. Sighing heavily, she points her wand at Seamus and says, "You, boy, are to go directly to Gryffindor Tower and bring this board game to my office, do you understand me?" Seamus nods. "Good. Go." Seamus wastes no time in getting out of her sight. "The rest of you," she says, turning to Dean, Parvati, and Lavender, "are to stay here in my office until I return, do you understand me?"

"Yes Professor," they all say. Professor McGonagall moves out from behind her desk and leaves her office, going up the nearby marble stair case.

By the time Seamus returns with the game, he finds that Dean, Lavender, Parvati, and Professor McGonagall have been joined by Professor Lupin, looking typically shabby and well-worn. When he says Seamus arrive with the object in question with him, he says, "Ah, I take it this is it?" Dean, Parvati, and Lavender all nod.

Professor McGonagall clears away some space on her desk. "Here, set it down," she orders Seamus, who obeys quickly and without question. She examines the game closely with her eyes, scanning it intently. Very reluctantly, she reaches out and strokes the top with her finger before running her entire hand over it. "Hmm," she says, clearly in the midst of thought. "It's old. Very old, that much is clear." When she finds the hinges on the sides, she figures out how to open the game to reveal the board and flaps. The tokens are all still in the exact same positions as before.

"Any idea just how old?" Professor Lupin asks.

"I can't say precisely," Professor McGonagall says, peering down closely at the wooden surface. "There are clear indications of magical preservation, but then the signs of aging are clear in some places. It could very well be over a thousand years old."

"Dear God," Professor Lupin says, moving closer to the board to get a look for himself. "It's in remarkable condition, if so."

Professor McGonagall moves her attention to the tokens, wrapping her fingers around the crocodile figure. "Hmm," she says, as if feeling something in her finger tips. "But these pieces are not as old as the board. They are a much more recent addition," she says, tugging on the piece, only to find that it will not budge.

"Curious," Professor Lupin says, reaching into his bag. "May I?"

"Please," McGonagall says, gesturing for him to come closer.

Professor Lupin pulls out a long, golden device that looks to Dean like an old car radio antennae. As he gets closer to the board, Professor Lupin runs the device just a few inches over it. "This old probity probe's seen better days, but-" but before Professor Lupin can finish, the golden probe suddenly bursts into flames for a brief moment before crumbling into dust. The sudden display causes Lavender to squeak in surprise, and Professor McGonagall's mouth hangs open. "That…is not good," Professor Lupin says simply.

'What, what just happened?" Seamus asks.

"That device was a dark detector called a probity probe," Professor Lupin says. "They're supposed to reveal the presence of concealment enchantments or dark powers…though I've never seen one do that before."

"I'm going to inform Professor Dumbledore of this," Professor McGonagall says, leaving her office once more for the stairs.

As Professor Lupin examines the two flaps, he says to no one in particular, "Can one of you please tell me exactly what happened when you started playing, up to when the ants first appeared?"

Dean decides to answer, feeling much calmer in the presence of Professor Lupin than the irate Professor McGonagall. "Seamus and I brought the game into the Griffyindor Common Room to try and figure out what it was, or.,.how it worked, or whatever. When Parvati and Lavender saw what we were doing, they decided to join us. We opened it up and saw that it was a board game. Seamus found the game tokens and dice inside that compartment. The pieces all moved directly to their spots on their own. I rolled the dice and got a three, so my piece – the elephant one – moved forward three spaces. At first, it didn't look like anything was going to happen, but then…then these words appeared in the center, there."

"What did these words say?" Professor Lupin asks calmly.

"Uh…" Dean says, struggling to remember the rhyme exactly. "I…I can't remember exactly, but it was something like 'a tiny army's on the path…beware their something something wrath.'"

"I see," Professor Lupin says, reading the rules on the flaps. "Now, before you lot put down your tokens on the board, did you all read these rules? This is very important."

"Yeah, we read them," Dean says.

Professor Lupin sighs. "That's definitely not good."

"Why, what's wrong?" Seamus asks, moving closer to Professor Lupin.

"Some of the most powerfully-magical bonds are those forged willfully. It is very hard to break a magical bond that is forged willingly between the involved parties. A person's free will is an unbelievably powerful thing, something most wizards don't truly appreciate. When a person surrenders themselves willingly to a magical agreement, it can be nearly impossible to break.

"Now, when you four read these rules, and then decided to play a game, you accepted the conditions of the game," Professor Lupin says. "You forged a magical bond with this game – a curse – that cannot be broken."

"What do you mean?" Lavender asks, distressed. "Are you saying we're going to be hearing these drums for the rest of our lives?"

"No… there is one way you can end the curse," Professor Lupin says.

"We have to finish the game," Dean says. "It's right there in the rules – 'the exciting consequence of the game will vanish only once a player has reached Jumanji and called out its name''"

"Oh no," Lavender says looking absolutely miserable.

"It'll be alright, Lavender," Professor Lupin says, moving closer to the four students. "Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and I will all do what we can to help you through this."

"Yeah, only to get expelled when it's all done," Seamus says, looking at the floor.

"My advice to you is this" Professor Lupin says in a comforting voice, "If you don't want to be expelled, then this is your chance to do right by your house, by your school, and by yourselves. You are about to be challenged. And how you face that challenge may very well decide your future at this school."

When Professor McGonagall returns with Professor Dumbledore, Professor Lupin tells them both the exact nature of the situation. After examining the game for himself, Dumbledore nods to himself and says, "Yes, I agree with your assessment, Professor Lupin. Mr. Thomas, Mr. Finnegan, Ms. Patil, and Ms. Brown have all inadvertently entered in to a binding magical contract with this game. There is almost certainly very little hope in breaking it, and their only option at this time is to _fulfill_ it. They must play, and one of them must win."

"Are you certain that you don't want to try breaking the curse directly, Professor?" McGonagall asks him. "This is an exceptionally powerful dark artifact. Those ants were indestructible, and there's no knowing what else it may conjure."

"As you said, Minerva, this is an exceptionally powerful dark artifact. Why, I doubt even Lord Voldemort in his prime would be able to conjure 50 million ants- or, 50 million anything really. It's a very big number after all," he says cheerfully, even though the four students and Professor McGonagall all wince at the sound of the name. "Even the Gringotts curse breakers woiuldn't be able to undo it, and I dread to think what might happen to them if they tried."

"But these are just students! Third years!" Professor McGonagall says, clearly distressed. "They are putting themselves in great danger! Not to mention, the rest of the students. I think it'd be best if Misters Finnegan and Thomas, and Misses Brown and Patil were removed from the school, to some place where they can be better protected while… playing," the last word comes out awkwardly. "Of course, we'll need to make arrangements to contact the parents before-"

But ProfessorMcGonagall is cut off as Dean, Seamus, Lavender an Parvati all let out an agonized, startled scream, shutting their ears with their hands, and falling to their knees. Their heads all fill with the bombastic poundings of the drums, now louder, faster, and angrier than ever before. Each beat feels like a smack to the brain. Not a single other sound is able to penetrate the vicious cacophony. The three professors all turn to face the students, collapsed and writhing on the floor.

And then, after less than a minute, the drums cease.

"Look, here!" Professor Lupin says to the other teachers as the four third years struggle to get back on their feet. Professor Lupin points to the black circular center, where misty yellow words spell out:

 _Belay the thought  
of finding aid.  
Jumanji will not  
be delayed._

"I think," Dumbledore begins quietly, "that we have just been given a warning. We do not have the luxury of time on our side. This game has just told us that it will be played now, or these four students will suffer."


	4. Chapter 4: Hogwarts Redecorated

As Dean gets to his feet, he looks at the three teachers, whose faces are all filled with deep concern. He is still clutching his temple with one hand, a fierce ringing still deeply imbedded in his mind even after the drums had stopped. He still has trouble hearing them speak. Looking around, the other three appear to be in more or less the same state, Seamus clenching his teeth and Parvati's face all scrunched up. As the ringing finally begins to dissipate, sound returns to his ears.

Dumbledore slowly approaches the four students, his long, flowing midnight blue cloak trailing on the floor behind him. The twinkle in his soft blue eyes is diminished behind his half-moon spectacles as he looks down at them. "Are you alright?" he asks them in a quiet voice.

"Bit of a headache," Dean says, finally able to take his hand from his head. "But alright." The other three all make sounds and gestures of agreement.

"Then I'm afraid to say that we have little time to waste," Dumbledore says. "As much as we would like to take greater precautions, the game appears to demand that you play it now."

"Oh no!" Lavender says, putting her hands over her mouth.

Dumbledore holds up a hand to comfort her. "Please, try not to worry, my dear. The other teachers and I will do our best to protect you from any dangers this game may conjure."

"Professor," Professor McGonagall says, "What should we do about the other students?"

Dumbledore says, "For the moment, nothing at all. At least, not until we can get a better idea of the kinds of hazards this game will produce. For now, I think it would be best if the three of us proceeded to one of the lower dungeons. That way, if something truly unmanageable does happen to appear, then we will be able to alert the rest of the school before things get out of hand."

Professor McGonagall crosses her arms. "I can't say I like this," she says tartly.

"Oh I dare say none us do," Dumbledore says calmly, "Least of all our four young Gryffindors here. But we will do what we must, and we must do what we can." Dumbledore's words are final, as are his tone. "Now quickly, we must begin this game as quickly as possible if we are to end this curse."

Dumbledore leads the four students and two teachers out of Professor McGonagall's office at a surprisingly brisk pace for someone so old. Passing through the Entrance Hall, they descend a series of stairs to the dungeons, at first going in the direction of Snape's potions classroom before taking a right and heading further downstairs. They finally reach one of the roomier dungeon rooms, far beneath the castle. The ceiling is high over them, with old, rusty chains dangling far up the wall. A small trickle of water drips down to the floor in one of the corners, which makes Dean wonder if they're somewhere underneath the lake.

"Right," Dumbledore says, pulling out his wand, "let's make ourselves a little more comfortable, shall we?" With a few casual waves of his wand, Dumbledore lights a series of torches lining the stone walls, which flicker to life with orange flames. Once the dungeon room is filled with light, Dumbledore conjures a table big enough to hold the game board, and four chairs for Dean, Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati to sit down and play. After which, Dumbledore conjures three more chairs for Professor McGonagall, Professor Lupin, and himself, though neither of the other teachers feels much like sitting.

Seamus sets the board on the table, opening the flaps to reveal the game frozen in place, same as it had been since last night. For a brief moment, none of the students can bring themselves to sit down as it dawns on all of them that the time has truly come to resume. Taking a short breath, Dean manages to pull out the chair in front of him and take a seat, the wooden chair groaning far-too loudly in the spacious dungeon around them. This prompts the others to take their seats as well. Dean pulls out the dice from the compartment on the right flap. "Right," he says, offering the dice, "Who's going next?"

None of them are particularly eager to take the dice. Several seconds pass, with Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati all exchanging looks, pleading with their eyes for someone else to take it. Finally, it seems as though Parvati and Lavender decide to join forces and turn both of their eyes at Seamus. With a small grimace, Seamus says, "Fine," as he reaches forward and grabs the dice from Dean's hand.

Seamus jiggles the dice in his hand far more than seems necessary before finally working up the nerve to let them go, rolling on the game board until they land on a four and a six. The monkey figurine glides smoothly over the tiles on the game board ten spaces. They all lean forward to see the words forming in the center. Seamus reads them.

 _They grow much  
faster than bamboo.  
Take care,  
or they'll come after you. _

An odd sound fills the dungeon, lie the slithering of several long snakes along the dusty floor. Everyone in the room looks around and sees the same thing: vines. Hundreds of long, thick, vines winding their way all along the walls and floor like gigantic veins filled with green blood. Professors McGonagall, Lupin, and Dumbledore all point their wands in front of them, forming a protective circle around the students. All four of them are on their feet as well, watching as the vines keep growing before them, filling the entire dungeon and beyond.

As the vines begin to take over, more plants sprout from the floor. Mosses and lichens begin to carpet the stones on the ground at their feet, and numerous ferns begin to pop up, looking as if they'd been growing down in the dungeons for years. Large flowers open their petals to reveal brilliant shades of violet. These odd blossoms also sport tufts of while hair behind their petals, and fat green growths on their stems.

"We could certainly do with Professor Sprout right now," Dean remarks upon seeing the tropical foliage filling the room.

Professor Lupin looks up. "It looks like they're growing up in between the cracks in the stones," he says.

"Oh dear," Professor McGonagall says. "How much farther do you think they will grow?"

"I think we may have to go and find out," Professor Lupin says, turning to look at Dumbledore.

"Yes, I think that would probably be for the best," Dumbledore says, nodding. "I'll stay here with our four students."

Professor Lupin and Professor McGonagall move to leave the dungeon, stepping very carefully over the still-growing plant life.. As they reach the doorway, one of the strange purple flowers growing nearby hisses sharply, and Professor Lupin stumbles. "What the-?" he says, reaching down and feeling through his shabby, patch-work robes. With two fingers, he pulls out something imbedded in the fabric; a small, barbed needle-like object oozing some kind of thick, white fluid on one side. "Oh dear… I do believe this flower just shot this at me," Lupin says in a remarkably calm voice.

"What is it?" Seamus asks.

Professor Lupin examines the small projectile carefully. "Unless, I'm very much mistaken, this is some kind of venomous needle. I'm very fortunate that it only grazed my robes, otherwise I might be in a very bad way."

Dean looks around the room and spots two more of the flowers growing along the walls. Seeing his concerned expression, Dumbledore says, "Not to worry Dean: a good shield charm should prevent us falling victim to these most peculiarly perilous plants." Waving his wand out in front of them, he wordlessly casts the charm. The shield – if any is truly present – is invisible, but none of the four students are interested in testing it.

As Professor Lupin and Professor McGonagall make their up toward the Entrance Hall, they nearly collide head first with Professor Snape, who leads a group of seventh year students. "Minerva?" he asks in a confused yet curious tone. Though he notices Lupin as well, he only manages a cold look at him for a greeting.

"Severus," she says in response. "Is everything alright?"

"Decidedly not," Snape says. "I was just in the middle of teaching my N.E.W.T. potions class when a collection of unusual plants began to spontaneously grow over the entire classroom at an alarming pace. An enormous yellow pod attempted to eat Marcus Flint," he says, looking at the clearly-traumatized Flint. "I take it Pomona has been doing more… experimenting."

"No, Severus," Professor McGonagall says. "This is something else. I will tell you all that I know once we get an idea of just how far this plant growth has spread." Snape does not argue, and the three teachers begin to shepherd the students up the stairs and into the Entrance Hall.

Only now does it become apparent just how extensive the growth is. At first, everybody thinks they've somehow found their way outside. Vines have entangled the entire Entrance Hall, climbing all the way up to the ceiling. The floor, once covered in ornately carved tiles is now indistinguishable from the forest floor of a dense, tropical jungle. Dead, dried leaves cover the ground, and expansive groves of ferns, shrubs, and flowers make the original floor impossible to make out. Along the walls, tall tree trunks grow all the way up to the ceiling, where their branches spread outward to obscure the arched ceiling. The air itself feels heavy with humidity, causing many of the students to take off their robes and roll up their sleeves. They can even hear a low jungle chorus of frogs, insects, and birds all around them.

"Minerva," Snape says in a low voice, turning slowly toward her. "Explain."

"Time is short, Severus," she says simply. "So all I will say right now is that some of my students have accidentally engaged with an extremely powerful dark artifact."

"Is that so?" Snape says, his thin lips curling into a taunting smile. "The students in question wouldn't happen to be Potter and his sycophants, would they?"

"No, as a matter of fact, they aren't" Professor McGonagall says, resenting both the question and his tone. "And we have far more pressing things to concern ourselves with at the moment. For now, I suggest you take your students and escort them on to the grounds."

Frowning, Snape nods. "Stay close," he orders his students as he leads them to the front doors. But as they get closer, it soon becomes apparent that the thick layers of tangled overgrowth have blocked their path out of the castle. Snape pulls out his wand and casts a non-verbal curse that slashes at the vines like a saber. Though the curse cuts through the plants with ease, a new set of vines grows instantly in the place of their fallen brethren.

Scrunching his nose as if smelling something foul, Snape attempts the curse again, casting it several times in a row, trying to hack through the undergrowth with his wand like a machete. But determined though he is, the tenacious vines regrow every time, sealing off their exit from the castle. He tries several other methods, such as burning the vines, freezing them, transfiguring them, but none of these does anything to unblock their path.

Growing more frustrated, he turns to Professor McGonagall and says in a sour voice, "Well? What do you suggest, Minerva?"

Professor McGonagall is unsure of how to respond at first, an uncomfortable feeling growing deep in her gut. Finally, she decides the next course of action. "Take your students and check all of the other ways out of the castle, including the secret passage ways. Try to find a way out. Professor Lupin and I will check on the rest of the school to make sure the other students and staff are all safe."

Snape nods again before addressing his students. "All of you, stay close to me, and do not wander off. If I catch anyone trying to sneak off, you will be in detention for the rest of your days in this school."

"Watch out for the purple flowers," Lupin calls out to Snape. "They shoot venomous barbs."

Snape does not look back at Lupin as he says, "Thanks," in a decidedly ungrateful tone.

As Snape leads the seventh years up the marble staircase, Lupin turns to Professor McGonagall. "What if it turns out that the plants have blocked off every way out of the castle?"

"We'll have to worry about that later," Professor McGonagall says. "For now, our biggest concern is making sure everyone else is safe. Come, we should check the Hufflepuff common room first."


	5. Chapter 5: The River Horse

In the dungeons, Dumbledore, Dean, Seamus, Parvati, and Lavender still remain by the table, the game board spread out behind them. For the moment, the flowers seem to keep to themselves. The other two teachers have been gone for several minutes. After several minutes, Dumbledore turns to the four players and says, "How are you all feeling?"

They all look at him as if he's just been knocked on the head with a bludger. Dean is the first to give an answer. "I mean… not… terribly, all things considered."

"Ahh, good!" Dumbledore says in a friendly voice. "I find it always helps to face even the darkest circumstances as cheerfully as you can. What about the rest of you? Are you alright?" They all nod. "Good, very good. Now, who would like to take the next turn?"

Each of the four Gryffindor students sports of look of worry at the prospect of continuing. Seamus says, "Er, sorry Professor… but shouldn't we wait for Professor Lupin and Professor McGonagall to come back?

"At this point, I don't think they'll be coming back any time soon," Dumbledore says knowingly. "I fear that these plants have most likely spread very far throughout the castle. They'll need to ensure that the rest of the students are safe, and to help the rest of the staff organize an evacuation of the school. But never fear! I'm still here, and I will do my best to make sure no harm comes to you."

As Dumbledore finishes, the four of them turn back to face the game. They very reluctantly take their seats, the chairs now wobbling with the addition of vines to the stone floor. Dean and Seamus look at Lavender and Parvati, wondering which one will one will pick up the dice and take their turn. The girls look at one another as if engaged in a staring contest, waiting for the other to give out. Finally, growing impatient, Parvati says, "Oh fine! I'll do it."

Scooping up the dice in her hand, Parvati doesn't so much roll the dice as she does toss them angrily on to the game board. Bouncing a few times on the hard surface, the dice land on four and three, and the crocodile token slides forward seven spaces. Par for the course at this point, all four look into the center to see what words will form from her roll.

 _While trekking down  
the water's course  
guard against  
the river horse. _

A brief moment of quiet anticipation fills the room as they wait. They strain their eyes waiting for something to appear, only for nothing to make itself evident. Then, the small, quiet trickle of water dripping down from the ceiling begins to quicken. What had started out as a mere pitter patter turns quickly into a steady stream, and from there to a raging downpour. All around it, more leaks in the stone ceiling begin to flow into the dungeon, which begins to quickly fill with water.

"I think it would be best if we were to make it to higher levels," Dumbledore says, keeping his voice low and calm. As he ushers the students out the way they came, they hear a long, loud groan coming from the closed wooden door on the opposite side of the room. "Er, quickly please, if you can," Dumbledore adds.

As Seamus stows the dice in the compartment and shuts the game, the door explodes open, and a wall of water bursts forth into the room, slamming the five of them against their hips, knocking over Seamus and Parvati. Dean, Lavender, and Dumbledore help them back to their feet, even as more water continues spilling in from then next room. With their already-heavy robes now soaked, they trudge up the stairs, fighting to keep ahead of the rising waters.

But as they make it to the next level, another violet torrent rushes down from Snape's classroom, colliding with Professor Dumbledore, knocking him onto his back as it flows over the students, pushing them downstairs, over their heads. Seamus manages to break the surface first thanks to the fact that the game board floats. Craning his neck from side to side, he struggles to see through the darkened chambers, as well as the churning waters. Dean is the nest to resurface, followed soon by Parvati.

Dean calls out over the roaring rapids. "Where's Lavender!? Where's Professor Dumbledore!?"

A few more moments pass, all three treading water and looking for any sign of either Lavender or Dumbledore. Their patience is rewarded when Dumbledore's head pops out of the water about 10 feet away from them. At first his entire face his obscured by layers of sopping hair and beard, but he parts the hair to reveal his face. He begins a strong breast stroke toward Seamus, Dean, and Parvati. This is when they see Lavender's arms wrapped around his neck. When he reaches them, he raises his wand out from under the water. He says something, though none of them can understand what it is. But when he's finished, he flicks his wand toward all of their faces. Within moments, a perfectly round bubble surrounds each of their heads. Dumbledore then motions for each of them to dive down and follow him.

When Dean submerges he finds that he does not have to hold his breath. The bubble around his head acts as a sort of makeshift SCUBA tank, giving him a supply of breathing air. It also doubles as a mask, allowing him to see clearly under the water, though the darkness is still thick, and the water murky. A small, pale light appears up ahead of him, and Dean realizes that Dumbledore has lit the tip of his wand to help guide them. Adopting his best breast stroke, Dean and the others follow Dumbledore as he leads them up several flights of stairs, until they finally reach the door to the Entrance Hall.

With a burst of red light from his wand, Dumbledore blasts the door open. The angry currents carry the five of them out into the Entrance Hall as it begins to fill with water, the first few steps of the marble staircase already below the surface. Keeping their heads above the rising tide, Dumbledore waves his wand once more, removing the bubbles from around their heads. Though water continues to fill the Entrance Hall, the rate of flow seems to decrease significantly.

But as the waters begin to quiet, they hear something else within the Entrance Hall. Snorting. Grunting. Slowly turning around to look, they all catch sight of a large, round shape sitting part way in the water. Though most of its enormous, rotund body is in the water, they can see its small ears, flickering in agitation just behind its beady black eyes, which glare at them. Out on the end of its snout, a pair of wide nostrils exhale a single breath of hot, stale air.

"The stairs," Dumbledore hisses to them. "Go,now!"

In an instant, all of them throw their bodies halfway out the water toward the marble staircase, kicking and flailing through the water frantically, their hearts pounding at full strength, sending cocktails of adrenaline to every cell of their bodies. As they do, the hippopotamus fully submerges, disappearing completely from view. Seamus is the first to reach the stairs, clambering up to stand on the steps. He sets the game down beside him and turns to help Dean and Parvati. Professor Dumbledore is the last to make it to the staircase, letting the others pull Lavender up before crawling first to his knees and then to his feet. The burden of swimming up from the dungeons with an unconscious student on his back has clearly taken its toll. Mere moments after he stands at full height, he leans over, hands on his knees, coughing.

"Professor-" Pavarti begins, only to be cut off by the sound of something gigantic erupting from underwater behind them. All they see is bright, vivid pink framed by sharp, ivory tusks. But the charging hippo collides directly with something invisible.

Looking to his right, Dean sees that Professor Dumbledore has summoned enough strength to cast a wordless shield charm between them and the hippo. "Go!" he wheezes to them.

Dean, Seamus, and Parvati follow his instruction, Seamus grabbing the game as he gets up. Dumbledore waves his wand over Lavender's limp body before picking her up by one arm with surprising ease, and hoisting her over shoulder as if she weighs nothing. The four of them begin to dash up the stairs toward the grand staircase.

The hippopotamus sinks back into the water before exploding upward again, this time smashing through the shield charm, galloping up the marble stairs toward the fleeing humans. It opens its massive jaws nearly 180 degrees, grunting loudly, and showing off its fearsome tusks.

Dean, Seamus, Parvati, and Dumbledore – along with Lavender – run through the entrance to the grand staircase, just barely missing the rampaging hippo's snapping jaws. Once through the stone threshold, they are safe. The hippo is too wide across to fit through the doorway, no matter how many times it throws its fleshy tonnage against it. When it finally understands that the five humans are beyond its reach, it snorts in agitation before turning around and trotting back down the stairs and into the water.

All four of them spend a good minute on their knees, soaking wet, and breathing in great heaves of their chests. Dumbledore lets Lavender down on the floor, which is covered in dirt and leaf litter like the rest of castle. Resting her on her back, he lazily waves his wand a few times over her, and she awakens with a gasp and a pair of wide terrified eyes. Sitting straight up she screams, only for Professor Dumbledore to place a firm, comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright, alright, my dear," he says in a wheezy voice.

Lavender looks around her, seeing the Grand Staircase covered in tropical plant life, as if a rainforest had been planted inside. Most of the portraits are covered with vines and branches, must to the frustration of their occupants. Some have even managed to become dislodged from their place on the wall, whether simply hanging by a corner or two, or falling face down onto the earthy floor. "How…how did we get here?"

"I guess you nodded it off when the dungeons flooded and a hippo nearly ate us," Dean says, almost resentfully.

Before Lavender can snap back at him, Dumbledore hold up a hand and says, "Now, now, there is no need for such snark, Dean. We are all safe, and that is what is most important." But though Dean backs off, he can't help but notice that Lavender seems slightly redder than usual.

"Are you alright, Professor?" Parvati says, noticing Dumbledore's slow, weak breaths, along with his pale complexion.

He gives her a small smile and says, "Quite alright, my dear, quite alright. As you've probably noticed at some point, I'm not quite as young as I used to be. In fact, as of today, I am older now than I have ever been before." His statement earns a few quiet laughs from the four students. "So running, as well as swimming, upstairs can be quite the strenuous task for me. Not that I expect it was easy for you either, of course. Are you all alright?" They all nod. "Good, very good. Now, I suggest we find a better spot to play before Lavender takes her turn."

"Where should we go?" Seamus asks, getting back to his feet.

"A very good question," Dumbledore says, still on his knees for the moment. "I had hoped that we might pick a more secure place to play, but I fear I might have made a grave miscalculation. This game can conjure things of immense power, and which can penetrate the castle in ways I didn't think possible. To this, I offer my most sincere apologies."

All four of them, Dean and Seamus especially, feel a horrible twinge of guilt. "Please, Professor," Dean says, "you don't need to apologize. It's our fault that any of this is happening."

"Well, technically, it's Fred and George's fault, really," Seamus says, only for Dean to give him a nasty look.

"A perfectly innocent mistake," Dumbledore says. "Or, a mostly innocent one at any rate. I made far, far greater mistakes in my youth, and even greater ones in my old age." He looks down away from them.

"We'd never have made it out of the dungeon if not for you, Professor," Seamus says.

Lavender nods, "That's right. I'd have drowned if you hadn't pulled me out of there."

"And the rest of us would be hippo food," Dean adds.

Dumbledore looks at them with a beaming smile, the twinkle returned to his eyes. "I suppose there is little point in debating blame. I think I shall take you to my office to continue the game." He chuckles suddenly and says, "My apologies - that was not meant to rhyme."

He gets to his feet and leads them up the grand staircase toward the Headmaster's Tower. With every floor they pass, they see more and more of Hogwarts overtaken by the jungle plants. The twisting, tangled vines bind the moving staircase preventing them from switching positions. This presents a challenge, as the stairs aren't in a path that leads directly to the Headmaster's Tower, forcing Dumbledore to conjure new steps for them to take. As they move, the portraits lining the walls call out to Dumbledore, demanding to know what's happening.

"Please, everyone, please," Dumbledore tells them. "As you can see, a very powerful dark force has overtaken Hogwarts. We are doing our best to undo it. We will let you know more once the situation has been resolved."

When they reach the entrance to the fifth floor corridor, they see a crowd of students shuffling past. When one of them – a Ravenclaw first year – sees them passing by, she hollers, pointing at them. "Look! It's the Headmaster!"

Soon, all the students around her stop to look, word traveling quickly among the group. They abandon their path to move closer to Dumbledore, who pauses to allow them to approach him. He holds up his hands and says, "Yes, yes, alright, settle down, settle down."

But before anyone else can say anything more, a stern voice rings out over the crowd. "Let me through, let me through!" Professor McGonagall squeezes her way through the horde of students, with Professors Lupin, Snape, and Flitwick. "Albus!" she says, partly shocked partly overjoyed. Seeing the four students with him, she gives a soft laugh in relief. "Thank goodness you're all alright!"

"Indeed, Minerva," Dumbledore says, "Though unfortunately, as a result of…the last turn-" he says cryptically, taking note of all the students around them, "Everything from the dungeons to the Entrance Hall is flooded. And there's a particularly temperamental hippopotamus swimming around down there, so I wouldn't recommend anyone go for a swim."

Most of the students can't tell if Dumbledore is joking or not. Professor McGonagall says, "We've been searching through the castle to try and find a way out, but so far we have had no luck. The vines have grown over every exit we've checked so far, as well many of the secret passages."

"I see," Dumbledore says. "It seems there is a good chance that we may all be stuck within the castle until the curse is finished." At the mention of the word 'curse' the students all begin to ask various questions, none of which are able to rise about the din and make it to Dumbledore's ears. "Please, please, I understand you are all very confused and upset. And please know that all will be made clear once the danger has passed. But for now, I must insist that you stay with your professors and do your best to look out for one another."

"Headmaster," Snape says, standing next to Professor McGonagall. "I must insist that you tell me what is going on inside this school." His voice is calm but firm.

"As I said to the students, Severus," Dumbledore says, "time is very short. Explanations are best left for after the crisis is over."

Though Snape clearly resents Dumbledore's dismissal, he says nothing. Professor McGonagall asks, "Where are you going?"

"Up to my office," Dumbledore says. "For now, do your best to gather as many students as you can. And if you do manage to find a way out of the castle, that would be rather lovely as well."

"Yes, Headmaster," she says with a curt nod. "Everyone, follow me," she says, returning to the path through the fifth floor corridor.

When all of the students have finally left, Dean looks to Dumbledore and asks. "How come you didn't mention anything about us, Professor?"

"Because you are as much victims of this as anyone," Dumbledore says. "The last thing you all need right now is more blame thrown at you from your fellow students. But I was also being sincere when I said time was short, so let's be off."

After finally climbing past the seventh floor and to the entrance to the Headmaster's Tower, they see a stone gargoyle overgrown with vines. When he sees it, Dumbledore says, "Peppermint imps," which prompts the gargoyle to attempt hopping to one side to let them pass. However, the vines growing over its stony hide are so thick and tangled that it can't manage to move at first. It takes the gargoyle several tries before it finally manages to break free from its botanical bonds and allow Dumbledore, Dean, Parvati, Seamus, and Lavender to enter the circular stone staircuse that leads directly into the Headmaster's office.


	6. Chapter 6: Predators and Primates

None of the students have ever been in Professor Dumbledore's office before, a record they usually aren't keen on breaking. But given the circumstance, they are relieved to have made it. Even obscured by the dense layers of tropical foliage, Dumbledore's office is something to behold. Bizarre instruments of every conceivable shape and variety are strewn all over the open, circular room, lining every shelf and desk. A pair of curving stairs lead up to second level, a balcony overlooking rest of the office. All along the walls are portraits of many an aged witch and wizard, none of whom have noticed that they are covered with slithering vines because they are all fast asleep. On a perch beside Dumbledore's desk, a large, brilliantly scarlet bird sits watching them. Not far from the bird, Dean spots the school sorting hat sitting silently on the top of a high shelf, looking as much like an ordinary wizard's hat as any other.

"Can I offer you a nice toffee?" Dumbledore says, picking up a small tin from his desk and popping one in his mouth.

None of them are feeling particularly hungry, but considering all that Professor Dumbledore has done for them, it seems rude not to accept his offer, so they each take one. "I love your office, Professor," Lavender says, admiring the intricate devices and assorted paraphernalia scattered about. "And your bird is so pretty!"

"Why thank you, Lavender," Dumbledore says, bowing his head slightly. "This is Fawkes, my phoenix. Phoenixes are immensely strong, and their tears have healing powers, so he may yet prove useful as the game continues." Dumbledore clears away some space on his desk and Seamus sets the game down, opening up the board. At this point, Lavender's rhinoceros token is the only one still in its starting place. "Whenever you're ready, Lavender," he says to her.

Lavender quietly approaches the board, reaching into the compartment to pull out the dice. She holds the dice in her hand for a few seconds, before tossing them like they were something slimy and poisonous. The dice land on the board, eventually settling on a four and a five. The rhinoceros token slides forward nine spaces. Her lip quivering slightly, Lavender leans forward to read the incoming misty inscription.

 _Laughter fills the  
silent air  
But don't mistake  
this grave affair._

Dean's muscles tense. Seamus' sweaty hand grips his wand tightly. Lavender and Parvati move closer together. Dumbledore remains as calm and composed as ever. That's when they hear it – coming from the upper level. It sounds superficially like a person laughing, but it's clear to all of them that it is something else entirely. The 'laughter' is joined by long, low howls and nervous yips.

"Stay close to me," Dumbledore says, wand in hand. They don't need to be told twice.

As the inhuman chortling continues, they wait for the new arrivals to show themselves. After about a minute, one of them appears on the balcony. Roughly the size of a boarhound, it looks vaguely canine, save for its wide-set, rounded ears. A pair of small, black eyes sit atop a long brown muzzle. It bears a long, maned neck, sharply hunched shoulders, and four long legs bearing small paws. Its pelt is sandy yellow with dark spots.

For a while, it just stares at them, a pink tongue hanging lazily from its gaping jaws in a manner vaguely reminiscent of a friendly dog. But they know better than to let their guard down, especially when another, larger one appears next to the first. Three more join the other two, spread out across the balcony, sizing up the five humans.

Then they begin to head down the stairs at a brisk walking pace, moving with a long loping gate. They don't make directly for the closely knit circle of humans, but instead circle them, moving erratically and changing directions suddenly, presumably to confuse and disorient Dumbledore and the students.

One of the hyenas lunges forward at Seamus, snapping its jaws menacingly. It stops about a foot away from him. Dumbledore points his wand at it and shoots a bright red stunning spell, which hits it right between the eyes. Yelping loudly in pain, it leaps backwards, shaking its head from side to side. Dumbledore has to send a few more stunners as the other hyenas attempt to take chunks out of Dean and Lavender. After stunning the fourth hyena, Dumbledore raises his wand high over his head, twirling it hand several times. As the wand spins, great streams of fire begin to dance wildly over them like a flaming halo. The flames coil around them like great serpent, shielding them from attack and driving the hyenas back.

Howling and yelping in distress, the hyenas back away from the burning wall now protecting their prospective prey. They all begin to pace anxiously around the fire, eager to attack but determined not to be scorched. But with another snap of his wrist, Dumbledore expands the fiery circle outwards, pushing it against the hyenas. He flames lap up against their furry hides, catching two on their manes. This is what finally convinces them that Dumbledore and the student are too much trouble. They all make for the doorway to the circular stone stair case leading down out of the tower.

With the flames now gone from Dumbledore's office, he breathes heavily, putting a hand over his chest. All five of them keep their eyes on the doorway for about a minute, straining their ears for any hints of laughing or yipping. Lavender is the first to speak. "What filthy animals!"

"Now, now, Lavender," Dumbledore says. "Let's try not to be too judgmental. After all, I had a few excellent strips of bacon for breakfast this morning."

"Right," Dean says, "my turn then?" The others look at him surprised. "What? I just want to get this over with. The sooner we finish the game, the sooner all this goes away, and we can get on with our lives"

"I quite agree, Dean," Dumbledore says, nodding to him.

They all approach the game, still laying on the table. Dean picks up the yellowed-dice and gives a quick roll. But although the dice lands on a six and a two, instead of only moving eight spaces, the elephant token slides along the path sixteen, putting him past the halfway point. "Why did it do that?" Seamus asks. They lean forward to look at the words in the center hoping for an explanation.

 _Twice as far,  
your piece will leap  
but now your guard  
begins to sleep._

"Our guard?" Parvati asks. "What does that mean?"

At first, Dean is as unsure as she is. But as he mulls the words over for a few more seconds, something clicks in his head, causing him to look at Professor Dumbledore. Dumbledore doesn't look at all confused. Instead, he looks sad, his hands folded together in front of his mouth. "Professor…?" he asks Dumbledore.

Before Dumbledore can answer, he winces slightly, looking at his right hand. A fat, brown fly takes off with a high-pitched buzzing noise from Dumbledore's knuckles, leaving behind a red welt right behind his index finger. "I'm afraid," Dumbledore says, "that I won't be around to protect you for very much longer."

"What!?" a very upset Lavender says, going slightly pale. "Why?"

"Unless I am very much mistaken, this game doesn't like that I've been trying to help you. When I tried to keep us away from the rest of the students, it locked us all in and flooded us out of the dungeons. I think the game resents that you're getting help, but there's nothing in its rules that forbid it. So it is making a trade," Dumbledore says, stopping to yawn, "It's allowing Dean to move along twice as far, and will not be threatening you with anything this turn. But, in exchange…I…" and Dumbledore's eyes begin to droop slightly, his knees shaking. He staggers over to his desk, supporting himself by placing is hands on the edges. When he finally makes it to the chair, he collapses into the seat. His head lowers, and his eyes close completely.

"Professor?" Seamus asks. But it is too late. Dumbledore is already fast asleep, snoring softly at a constant rhythm.

Lavender moves over to the sleeping Dumbledore, shaking him by the left arm. "Professor, please! Wake up!"

"Weren't you listening?" Dean says frustrated. "It doesn't want Dumbledore helping us! So it's gotten rid of him."

"Will…will he be alright?" Parvati asks quietly.

"Only if we finish the game," Dean says simply. "That's the whole point. We have to keep the game going as best we can. Once one of us wins, all this will go away, it says so itself!"

"Guess it's my turn then?" Seamus says, picking up the dice. A flick of the wrist, and the dice skid across the game board until they settle on two twos. The monkey token glides along four spaces, bringing Seamus' total to fourteen. The words that begin to form read:

 _This will not be  
an easy mission.  
Monkeys slow  
the expedition. _

Before they can question the meaning of the rhyme, they hear something above their heads. Soft thuds begin to pound over the ceiling, most likely coming from the roof outside. They sound most like footsteps, and if the number of thuds is anything to go by, then there are many of them.

Suddenly, they hear a loud crash like shattering glass behind them. Spinning in place, they see a whole troop's worth of monkeys that look just like one on the cover of the game climbing inside Dumbledore's office. One by one, they make their way inside until the entire group of thirteen is running amok in the office, picking up Dumbledore's many unique possessions and examining with great curiosity. Shrieking and hollering manically, many of them begin to toss the items across the room at each other, and at the four Gryffindors as well.

"Oi!" Seamus cries out indignantly as one of the monkeys hurls a lunascope at his head, which he only narrowly manages to avoid.

The brown-furred, impish primates have a particular love of mischief. They toss old scrolls of parchment for the sheer pleasure of making a mess. Some of them leap up to grab at Fawke's dangling tail feathers, some of them having enough success for the annoyed phoenix to flap his wings and hiss at them. One of them finds a large stone basin filled with what looks like water, sticking its head inside only to pull it back out instantly with a high scream. Three of them sit beside the still-sleeping Dumbledore, pawing through his long silver beard and hair, looking for an easy snack.

"Get away from him!" Dean says, swatting at them with his wand. The monkeys do not appreciate his actions. Showing him its long canine teeth, one of the monkeys grunts at Dean before grabbing the wand by the tip. The two become engaged in a game of tug of war, and though Dean is about twice the size of the monkey, it puts up a ferocious fight as it yanks away from him with all its might. Suddenly remembering that he is a wizard, Dean calls out, " _Incendio_!"

Small orange flames shoot out of the end of Dean's wand toward the monkey. Though they are nowhere near as magnificent as the great inferno conjured mere minutes ago by Professor Dumbledore, they are still enough to startle the monkey into letting go. But when the monkey lets go of Dean's wand, it leaps up onto the desk. It closes the flaps of the game board and takes off with it toward the doorway.

"NO!" Dean says, racing at the monkey, his arms outstretched. Grinning mischievously, the monkey chatters loudly before scurrying down the stone staircase, the game clutched in both hands. Without even waiting for word from the others, Dean chases the monkey down the stairs. Even when on its hind legs, the monkey moves swiftly over the overgrown floor. Dean might be able to keep up with it, if he can manage to keep from tripping over tree roots. One out of the stairway, the monkey runs down the corridor, Dean still doing his best to catch up to it.

Turning around a corner however, the monkey lets out a short, loud screech before dropping the game and scaling the walls using one of the vines. At first, Dean smiles and bends down to pick up the game. But he stops when he looks ahead and sees the five hyenas at the other end of the hall, staring at him with their beady black eyes.

Dean doesn't dare move, afraid that even the slightest motion might spur the hyenas into action. For now, they simply look him over, their mouths open just enough to allow their teeth to be seen. They pant like overgrown dogs, their ears flickering every now and again. Dean can feel beads of cold sweat crawling down his forehead and along the palms of his hands.

Dean decides to break the standoff. He turns in place before bounding off down the corridor. He doesn't bother turning back, knowing full well that the hyenas are galloping down the corridor in pursuit. In a panic, Dean struggles to think of where to go to get away from the hyenas. There's no hope of outrunning them, and stunning spells are far beyond the skill of a thirteen year old just starting his third year of magical education. With no other options, he makes for the entrance to Dumbledore's office, only to be confronted by the gargoyle guarding the way up. But before he can even begin to attempt remembering the password, he feels a harsh, strong tug at his neck. One of the hyenas has seized him by the hem of his cloak and pulled him backwards, causing him to fall down on his back. The other hyenas surround him, taking mouthfuls of his baggy school robes and shaking them vigorously, tearing them to shreds in seconds.

Dean calls out, "Help! Somebody!" hoping that the others will hear him and come to his aid before too late.

Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati appear from down the stairs, shocked at the sight of Dean being mauled by the hyenas. Lavender lets out a loud scream, but Seamus and Parvati race forward, standing behind the gargoyle and pointing their wands at the predators. " _Incendio_!" A few balls of fire shoot out from the end of his wand toward the hyena closest to him, ripping into Dean's pant leg. The fire balls disturb the hyena for a few seconds, but not enough to chase it away.

Parvati points her wand at another one and calls out, " _Rictusempra_!" A few streams of purple light flit from her wand to the hyena, which lets go of Dean and breaks out in a series of fits as a powerful tickling sensation overcomes it. It gnaws at certain parts of its skin as if biting at fleas.

Getting over the shock, Lavender joins them and calls out, " _Locomotor_ _morits_!" A flash of blue light shines from the end of her wand as one of the hyena's four paws clamp together, causing it to fall over onto its side, where it struggles fruitlessly to get back up.

With two of the hyenas dealt with, the three of them reach out and grab Dean by his ankles, trying to pull him behind the gargoyle. But even their combined strength is no match for the three hyenas, which are beginning to get past his school uniform. Finally, the hyenas tug so fiercely that they pull off Dean's robes, and Dean himself is pulled quickly behind the gargoyle by Seamus, Parvati, and Lavender.

The three hyenas soon realize that there is no meet within the robe, and turn their attention to the four students. But as they begin to approach Dean, Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati, the gargoyle gets up from its perch, spreading its arms and saying, "Oh no you don't." When one of the hyenas tries to slink underneath its outstretched arms, it swat it away like a poorly-behaved cat. The hyena yelps loudly before circling away and whimpering. Once the other two regain themselves, the pack paces around the gargoyle, clearly frustrated, before turning away and running down the corridor in search of easy prey.

When the hyenas are gone, they all let out a deep sigh of relief. "Thanks for that," Dean says, turning back to them.

But Lavender slaps him on the cheek. "Why did you run off like that on your own."

Nursing the spot where she slapped, Dean says, "A monkey had taken the game! I had to get it back!"

"You should have waited for us!" Lavender says, putting her hands on her hips. "It's dangerous out there!"

"it's not exactly safe in there either," Dean says defensively.

"Dean, she's right," Seamus says. "You can't just go running of like that. Now that we don't have Dumbledore, we have to stay together. It's our only chance."

Dean looks down. "Yeah, I know. I guess that was a bit stupid."

"Well, just as long as you know it," Parvati says, giving him a small smile, which he returns.

They wait several minutes to make sure that the hyenas are definitely gone. They hear nothing but the continued mayhem of the monkeys upstairs, still amusing themselves with Professor Dumbledore's many personal possessions. Finally, moving together, they creep quietly out from behind the gargoyle, doing their best not to make much noise. Turning the corner where the hyenas had come from, they see nothing but the game, still lying where it had been dropped. With no hyenas in sight, Dean turns to Parvati and says, "Alright, Parvati – you're up."


	7. Chapter 7: Long Pork

For a moment, they all just stare at the game sitting on the forest floor of the corridor. After looking at each other several times, Parvati says, "Do you think we should find somewhere else to play?"

"Where else can we go?" Dean asks. "There's no place in the castle that's safe, really. We might as well just play it right here, rather than wasting time moving somewhere else."

"I guess you're right," Parvati says.

They all sit down, trying to find comfortable positions among the uneven terrain. Parvati reaches out and opens up the game board, picking up the dice. With a deep breath, she rolls the dice. But nothing happens. The crocodile token stands still in place, and nothing appears in the center. All four of them look confused. "What's it playing at?" Seamus asks.

"Try again," Dean says to Parvati.

She rolls once again, but it has no effect. "Did I do something wrong?" she asks tentatively.

"Oh, wait, I know what's wrong," Seamus says, looking at one of the flaps. "It says it right here in the rules. 'Doubles gets another turn.' I rolled two twos, so that means I have to go again."

"Ooohh, I see," she says, handing Seamus the dice.

Before rolling, Seamus counts the number of spaces left between the monkey token and the center. "I've got eighteen spaces left. Here's hoping for a twelve." Letting go of the dice, they land up on a one and a four, closing the distance between the piece and the end by five spaces. All of them lean forward as the most dreadful part of any turn begins to appear.

 _Grab your knife  
Grab your fork  
Tonight they're serving  
fresh long pork._

This one may just be the most puzzling one yet. "What's 'long pork?'" Seamus asks.

"I think I had some long pork when I went on holiday in Spain a few years ago," Lavender says. "Though, I can't remember exactly what it tastes like."

"So what, is the game breaking for lunch?" Parvati asks.

"I could do with some lunch," Seamus says, rubbing his stomach with his left hand. "I'm starving, and it's way past lunch time anyway."

Dean rolls his eyes at Seamus. "I seriously doubt the game is going to feed us lunch."

"But then, what does it mean?" Lavender asks anxiously.

"Wait, shut up you lot," Seamus says, holding up his hands.

Dean isn't sure at first why Seamus has asked them to shut up. He expects that Seamus might have heard something, but as he strains his hears, he nears nothing but the quiet of the jungle in the corridor. So fixated on sound, it takes Dean awhile for his other senses to kick in, particularly smell. A distinct scent wafts down the hall, carrying a strong smoky odor to it. Sniffing the air, Dean asks, "What is that?"

"Mmmmm," Seamus says softly. "Smells like a roast!"

Before anyone can say anything else, Seamus gets to his feet and follows the smell down the corridor. "Wait!" Dean says, getting up to follow him, but Seamus ignores him. Once Seamus reaches the end of the corridor, the turns left and goes down a flight of stairs. "Get back here, you stupid git!" Dean shouts back at him. When it becomes plain that Seamus will not listen, Dean turns to the girls and says, "Come on, let's follow him. I'll take the game." He closes the flaps and picks up the game board as the three of them catch up with Seamus.

They find him standing by a corner, peering around at something in the next corridor. When she reaches him, Lavender smacks the back of his head. "You idiot!" she says, as he nurses his sandy hair, "Didn't you just get through saying that we need to stick together?"

"Sorry," Seamus says. "I'm just so hungry! I wasn't thinking."

"That much is clear," Parvati says, folding her arms.

"But take a look at this!" Seamus says, waving them to look around the corner with him.

When they do, all four of them see a huge, round, bubbling pot sitting in the middle of a the hallway, a fire burning quietly below. Far larger than the cauldrons they use during potions lessons, this pot looks large enough for a grown man to sit in. By all appearances, it looks as if it's been sitting there for hours. Steam drifts lazily from the top as brown bubbles pop when the reach the surface. Based on both the color and the smell, all four of them figure that it's some kind of stew. What looks like the handle of a ladle is sticking out over the rim of the pot.

All Dean can manage to say is, "What?"

"Maybe the game really is giving us a lunch break!" Seamus says hopefully, his eyes wide at the sight of the pot.

"Don't be daft," Dean says, "why would it do that?"

"Well, it wants us to play it right?" Seamus says. "And we can't play on an empty stomach after all."

"You're mental!" Dean says, unable to stop himself from laughing at Seamus' on-the-spot rationalization.

"No, really, it makes sense!" Seamus persists.

"It really doesn't…" Parvati says.

Seamus ignores her. "The game let you more forward twice as much last turn," Seamus says.

"Only by putting Dumbledore to sleep!" Dean says. "The game doesn't give without taking something, haven' t you been paying attention?"

But Seamus still doesn't seem to be paying any attention. "It smells so good…" he says wistfully.

"If you're thinking of actually eating any of that stuff, you've got fewer brains than a flobberworm," Lavender says dismissively.

"Oh come on," Seamus says growing frustrated. "I dare any one of you to tell me that doesn't smell delicious."

"That's not the point!" Parvati says. "You don't know what it is! What if it's poisoned?"

"Oh now you're just being paranoid," Seamus says, not even looking at her.

"Really?" Dean asks incredulously. "This is the same game that trapped the entire castle in a jungle, flooded the dungeons and set a hippo on us in the Entrance Hall, wrecked Dumbledore's office with a bunch of monkeys, and almost killed me with a pack of hyenas! I don't think it's too much to think that stew isn't safe."

"Oh please," Seamus says, waving him off. "Just…just one little taste couldn't hurt…" he says, beginning to move toward the boiling pot.

"Seamus, get your pale, bony, freckled arse back here, or I will curse you all the way to the seventh year!" Dean hisses threateningly.

Seamus doesn't react, instead continuing to walk steadily in the direction of the steaming stew. Dean's threat proves empty, as Seamus makes it to the edge of the pot, peering over the rim into the bubbling mixture below. He can feel the warm air rising into his face, carrying the scent of warm, fresh meat into his nostrils. The churning, gurgling sensation in his belly intensifies. Finally, when he can bear it no longer, he picks up the wooden ladle sitting in the stew, and raises it up, seeing a single chunk of meat sitting in the dish. Licking his lips in preparation, Seamus blows on it, the steam dissipating with his breath. Bringing the edge up to his lips, he allows a tiny trickle of the stew to gently grace his tongue. "Mmmm!" Seamus says, a hot, savory flavor coursing over his taste buds. Trying to be mindful of its high temperature, Seamus takes a few more sips of the stew before finally wrapping his lips around the hunk of meat, and bringing it inside his mouth. Once the meat is chewed and swallowed, Seamus calls back at the other three, "This stew is brilliant! You lot gotta try some!"

Not one of them can believe what they've just seen. Lavender covers her mouth with her hands in horror. Parvati's mouth hangs low, her eyes looking stupefied. Dean cradles his face in his hands. As they look on in sheer disbelief as Seamus takes in more mouthfuls of stew, as if he'd never eaten anything before in his life.

"I…can't watch this," Lavender says, starting to turn greenish yellow in the fire light. Dean doesn't blame her in the least. But when Lavender turns around, she gives a small, startled scream, causing both Dean and Parvati to turn around as well.

Standing out in a line are 9 human figures, each one over 7 feet tall. Some of them have skin as black as midnight, while others are shine alabaster. Lean and muscular, they are dressed in a mixture of hard wooden plating on their chests, forearms, and shins, as well as tangled black fibers that look almost like human hair from a distance. Each one is carrying a spear as long as they are all tall, all tipped in round, heavy clubs tipped in ferocious spikes. They grip the spears with hands bearing, long, grasping fingers tipped with broken, dirty nails. The same is true of their toes, since they walk barefoot. They are all wearing flat wooden masks, each one with a different face painted in what Dean desperately hopes is dark red paint. All of the faces look horrified, like the last face a person makes before they are rendered limb from limb. The only exception is the one dead center. He has a hole in his masked carved out over his mouth, allowing them to see his fat, red lips, and his broken, chipped, blackened teeth. Around all of their necks are several necklaces bearing stone charms, beads, bones…and human toes.

In a faint whisper, Dean says, "I think I just realized what 'long pork' is…"

Without speaking, the figure whose mouth is visible steps forward, taking his spear in both hands. His strides are long an purposeful, and he closes the distance between them quickly. As he gets closer, he raises his spear, in preparation to attack. Without thinking, Dean points his wand up toward the spear and cries out, " _Diffindo_!"

The severing charm cuts right through the wooden spear, the lethal tip falling to the ground. The spearman pauses, taking a moment to look at his broken weapon. More than anything, this has the effect of making him angrier, causing him to snarl viciously.

"Run!" Dean shouts, and all three of them turn around and bolt in the opposite direction. Seamus, who had only just looked up from the stew, quickly realizes what's going on and joins the others as they flee down the corridor. While the students have the advantage of familiarity on their side, knowing their way around the castle fairly well, the hunters have the advantage of long legs and powerful muscles, propelling them swiftly over the uneven terrain of the root-covered floor. Even in barefoot, they seem unfettered by the extraneous plant matter littering the forest floor.

Bursting through a door, they find themselves on the great stair case. "Come on," Dean says, "Let's try to lose them on the stairs." They descend the staircases, hoping to catch one as it begins to shift to another position. The group of hunters keeps pace with the, bounding down stairs multiple steps at a time.

Four sets of stairs down, they get a break. As the last one of the group makes it onto the steps, it shudders slightly before swinging to the right, tearing through a few vines tying it to its current level. As the staircase moves away from the hunters, they stand silently at the precipice, watching their quarry get away.

"See ya later, ya bunch of geebags!" Seamus calls back smugly as they move farther from their pursuers.

The lead hunter takes a few steps backward, stopping in place about fifteen feet from the edge. Then, springing forward, he bounds forward with great strides before leaping off the edge toward the moving stairs. They hope he will miss them, but there is no such luck – he lands on the upper part of the stairs away from them

Dean turns to Seamus and says, "I hate you."

The leader is joined by his comrades one by one as the staircase settles to its new position. Dean, Seamus, Parvati, and Lavender race into the next corridor, hoping to find some other way to lose the hunters.

But as they twist around several hallways, the come to a dead end – a solid wall with a hanging tapestry of a knight fighting a manticore. A cold shock striking their hearts, they turn around with horrified expressions to see the nine hunters standing in front of them, brandishing their weapons with furious excitement. They charge forward- only to stop just a few steps later.

At first, none of the are sure why they've stopped. But then, something sound from behind them: a horrible, agonized wailing, combined with a frantic shaking of large chains. When they turn around, the four Gryfinidors see none other than the Bloody Baron – the Slytherin House Ghost – floating angrily through the wall behind them toward the attacking hunters. Even to Dean and the others, he looks positively horrifying. His gaunt, sunken face bears a pair of eyes that lack and signs of warmth or life. Silver blood stains run all the way down his grey, transparent form. Shaking the chains strapped to his body, he creates a tremendous ruckus that seems to spook even the savage hunters.

"Wait!" they hear a voice call from behind them. Turning to look, they see another ghost – Sir Nicholas De Mimsy Propington, the Gryffindor House Ghost. At first glance, he is significantly less frightening than the Bloody Baron, dressed in foppish ruffs and a puffy shirt. But he soon lives up to his nickname of Nearly-Headless-Nick when his head falls off of his shoulders, tethered there by a thin piece of skin. The hole underneath reveals the blood, muscles, and spine within.

This apparently is too much for the hunters, who cower at the sight of the two spirits before running off back where they came.

"I say," Nick says, setting his almost-severed head back in place, "what was that all about?"

"Lucky thing you two showed up," Dean says, breathing heavily in relief.

"What are you four doing running about the school?" Nick asks in clear disapproval. "I trust you notice what's been going on?"

"Yeah, we noticed," Seamus says sardonically.

"You should join the rest of the students," Nick says. "They are currently all together in the middle courtyard with the staff for protection."

"We can't do that," Dean says. "We have to stay on our own."

"What?!" Nick says looking horror-struck. "Why?"

"It's a long story," Dean says. "We're working on fixing everything, but we can't have any help. If anyone tries to help us, they might be put in danger."

This information appears to only confuse Nick, who stutters a bit before continuing. "What? Fix everything? But why should the burden of fixing things fall on you?"

"Because we're the ones who messed everything up," Seamus says guiltily.

"But surely, the Headmaster-" Nick begins.

But Lavender cuts him off. "Professor Dumbledore's asleep."

"Well, wake him up then!" Nick says growing frustrated from all the confusion. "This hardly seems like the best time for an afternoon nap."

"We can't wake him up," Dean says. "It's part of a curse. He tried to help us, and he was put to sleep by a curse."

Nick grows so confused that his head once more falls off its place, and he quickly straighten himself out again. "But I don't-…wha-..I-you…what was he trying to help you do?"

"He was trying to help us undo the curse and put the castle back to normal," Parvati says.

"Are you really telling me that you four are responsible for all of this?" Nick asks disbelievingly.

"Yup," Seamus says, almost as if he'd proud of what they've done.

"Oh dear," Nick says, putting his hand very delicately on his forehead.

"What are you and the Bloody Baron doing up here?" Seamus asks, his flitting briefly to the menacing specter hovering to Nick's left.

"Professor McGonagall sent us to find the Headmaster," Nick says.

"He's in his office, asleep," Parvati says. "He's alright, or….well, he seems to be at least."

"Hmm….oh very well then," Nick says. "I suppose we had better report back to the Deputy Headmistress."

"When you do," Dean says, "Tell Professor McGonagall we're alright, and we're getting closer to solving the problem."

"I certainly hope so" he says. And without another word, he drifts effortlessly back through the wall. The Bloody Baron considers the four students for a moment before following Nick, leaving them alone once more.


	8. Chapter 8: The Stampede

The Middle Courtyard, normally relatively open, is now packed with all the students of the school, who only just barely manage to fit inside. A low roar of voices covers the courtyard as the students all discuss what exactly is happening amongst themselves. All around them, just like the rest of the castle, dense vines and creepers cover the walls around them. All of the staff are inside as well, even teachers such as Professor Sinestra and Professor Trelawney, who usually spend their time high in the towers of the castle.

Peering around the Middle Courtyard, Snape surveys his collection of students, making sure that all are accounted for. Around him, the other heads of houses do the same with their own students. So far, as best he can tell, all of the Slytherins are here. Once he's finished making sure they're all behaving themselves well enough ("Goyle, return those chocolates or else you'll be doing lines for the next week!"), he looks across uneven surface of the sea of student heads in front of him to the opposite side of the courtyard, where Professor McGonagall is conversing with Nearly-Headless-Nick.

He scrunches his nose as if smelling something particularly odorous. He informs his Head Boy and Girl, as well as the prefects, to keep an eye on the students as he makes his way toward her, his long black cloak billowing behind him like a pair of leathery bat wings. When he reaches her, he says in a quiet, though menacing voice, "Minerva, I have been patient long enough. Now I insist that you tell me what's going on, specifically."

The small wizard, and head of Ravenclaw House, Professor Flitwick joins Snape at his side. "I'm afraid I have to agree with Severus. Now that the students are all safe, I see no reason why we can't discuss it." By his right is Professor Sprout, head of Hufflepuff, looking stern with crossed arms.

She considers both of them before saying, "Oh very well. But please, do not tell any of the students. I want the situation to be dealt with before rumors start swirling among them. The last thing I want is a load of owls going out with news before we even fully understand."

"Agreed," Snape says with a curt nod. "So…shall we begin."

Professor McGonagall takes a moment to figure out the best place to begin. "Two days ago, Fred and George Weasely-" but this alone causes the other three heads to groan and sneer. "Now enough of that!" she snaps at them. "As I was saying, two days ago Fred and George Weasely stole an unusual item from Mr. Filch's office. Of course, he informed me at once, and I searched their things immediately, but I couldn't find anything. Turns out they gave it to some other students to hide it for them."

"Which other students?" Snape asks in a cold, lethal voice.

"Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan," she says. "The item in question was apparently some kind of enchanted board game. Mr. Thomas and Mr. Finnegan though they would play a round with Miss Lavender Brown and Miss Parvati Patil. Unfortunately, they unknowingly entered into a very powerful binding magical contract.

"Now…as best as I can understand it….the game works with each of the players having their own token. They roll the dice to move the token a certain number of spaces toward center. On each turn, the game conjures a different hazard for them to face, the first of which were the ants."

"Merlin's Beard," Flitwick says, putting a hand to his temple.

"Interesting," Snape says, a fascinated glint flashing in his black eyes. "Are you telling us that a single board game was capable of conjuring all of this?"

"Yes, I am," Professor McGonagall says shortly.

"I take it they have to play the game and win in order to break the curse," Professor Sprout says.

Professor McGonagall nods. "When last I checked, Professor Dumbledore was protecting the four of them from anything the game might conjure. However, I have just been informed by Sir Nicholas that Professor Dumbledore has fallen into an enchanted sleep, and is now unable to help them."

"Well surely one of us most go to their aid!" Professor Spout says with great urgency.

"Believe me, Pamona, I would very much like to," Professor McGonagall says, her voice sounding slightly defeated. "But from what Sir Nicholas told me, Finnegan, Thomas, Brown, and Patil do not want any more assistance. Apparently they believe the game put the Headmaster to sleep because he had been trying to help them."

"Hmmm," Snape says, stroking his chin in thought. "If this game truly is capable of that kind of calculated thought, and can create all of this," he says, gesturing to the surrounding jungle, "it must be both incredibly powerful and be of an extremely dark nature. How such came to be inside Hogwarts is a matter of no small curiosity, let alone how it came into the possession of that useless squib."

"Indeed," Professor McGonagall says, "but that is a mystery for another time."

Snape continues. "More troubling, though, is that in all my years studying the dark arts, I have never encountered any mention of such an object. Minerva, did you get the chance to examine it?"

"I did," Professor McGonagall says. "From what I could tell, it was very old, using magic to preserve itself physically. I can't say how old precisely, but it looked to be within the realm of centuries old, possibly over 1000 years."

Snape looks frustrated. "How could I possibly have missed such an extraordinarily old and powerful dark artifact?" He seems to take the game's elusiveness as a personal insult. "Such an object would surely make a great impact on wizarding history."

Growing slightly uncomfortable, Professor McGonagall says, "Perhaps your studies of the dark arts were not as thorough as you thought. In any event, that is also something that we can sort out later."

"And what sort of disciplinary action have you arranged for the students in question?" Snape says, his lip curling slightly.

"Oh for Heaven's sake, Severus," Professor McGonagall says, "these students will be lucky to make it out this situation alive! I'd rather not think about punishing them until I know they are safe, if I choose to punish them at all."

Professor Flitwick's face goes slightly pale. "And…what will happen if one of them doesn't make it out alive?"

At this, Professor McGonagall freezes, the words caught in her throat. "I don't know,:" she says simply. "With any luck, that won't be something we have to worry about."

Before any of them can say anything else, a high pitched shrieking sound fills the courtyard from all sides. The students, their bodies all close, pack together even more tightly, their heads spinning around in all direction to find the source of the noise. The teachers all raise their wands as they too try to find out what it is..

As he looks up at one of the stone columns along the edge of the courtyard, Professor Flitwick sees what looks like a monkey; Not any specific kind of monkey; not a spider, not a howler monkey, not a baboon or macaque. It just looks to be a generic archetypical monkey; about his size, with long limbs, a thin, curling tail, and a face like a particularly mischievous person, save for the flat nose and sharp teeth. At first, the two of them just stare at one another, the monkey dangling from a vine high up on the stone column.

When it jumps down to the ground, Flitwick holds his wand up steadily. "Now, now," he says, facing the monkey as it stands on its hind legs. "There's no need to get any closer. Just…just stay back."

The monkey take s a few steps toward Flitwick, his wand still pointed forward. Chattering softly to itself, the monkey leans in close and sniffs the tip of Flitwick's wand, mere inches away. Though Flitwick feels anxious at how close the monkey is, he can't bring himself to jinx it.

But in a flash of brown motion, the monkey shoots out its right hand and grabs the wand, yanking it away from the little man in one swift motion. It takes Flitwick a moment to register what's just happened, but when he flexes his right fingers and feels no wand, he shouts, "Why you little furry simpleton! That's mine!"

Quite pleased with itself, the monkey shrieks and hollers as it scales the vines around the edges of the middle courtyard, brandishing the wand like a miniature sword. Dangling from high overhead, it taunts Flitwick to reclaim his wand. Seeing the thieving primate, Professor McGonagall tries to hex it, but the monkey is too fast. It clambers up another vine and out of the courtyard.

"Don't worry, Filleus," Snape says lazily, trying his best not to smile. "I'll get it for you." Snape follows the monkey as it swings on the vines growing along the ceiling.

In a wide hallway of the fourth floor, Dean, Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati all sit down, finding as comfortable a seat as they can. No longer trapped against a wall, they have decided to find a more open space to play, in the quite-likely event that they need to run. Dean sets the game board down, opening it back up. All of them keep their ears strained for any signs of manic laughter, mischievous jabbering, or running footsteps in the corridors nearby. For the moment, all remains quiet.

Dean's own elephant token is nineteen spaces along, with only thirteen more spaces between the token and the center, the same number as Seamus' monkey. Lavender's rhinoceros is still nine spaces from its starting position, and Parvati's crocodile is seven. hough this is about to change as Parvati picks up the dice and gives it a roll. The dice give her a two and four for a grand total of six, bringing her total progress to thirteen. She reads the words aloud for the others.

 _Don't be fooled,  
it isn't thunder.  
Staying put  
would be a blunder. _

Keeping their eyes and ears peeled, and their wands at the ready, they all stand up, following the game's advice. But though they fully expect something to happen, the corridor remains calm and empty. The anticipation builds in them as they wait for the next hazard to appear. After several minutes, when nothing still makes itself known, Seamus goes, "Well where the ruddy hell is it?"

Dean isn't sure. This turn seems to be pretty standard, and the rhyme is clearly a warning, though of what he still isn't sure. Dean repeats the words aloud, "Don't be fooled, it isn't thunder…"

"I don't hear anything," Lavender says, looking worried.

"Hmmm…." Dean says, still wrapped in thought. "Maybe we should move somewhere else."

"Why?" Seamus asks.

"Because of the second part – 'staying put would be a blunder,'" Dean says.

"I don't know," Seamus says apprehensively. "I don't trust this game. Last time it had me eating…" and he can't bring himself to say it, instead preferring to make an ugly face.

"Hey that was on you," Dean says. "I'll say this much for the game – it's honest. It tells you what's coming. So to be on the safe side, I still want to get somewhere else."

"Ohh," Lavender says in an upset voice. "I don't know. What if we run into the hyenas or those cannibals again?"

Dean shrugs. "There's every chance they might find us here. No place in the castle is safe. Come on, let's get going," and he closes the game board once again.

"Stand still, you worthless creature!" Snape snarls as he slices the air again and again trying to get at the monkey. The monkey seems to delight in tormenting Snape, making nasty faces and chattering loudly every time he misses. Finally, he lands a lucky shot, his stunning spell striking the monkey in the side. Shrieking in pain, the monkey falls to the floor on its back with a hard thud dropping the wand. Snape bends over and picks it up. "That will teach you to match wits with Severus Snape," Snape says cooly, sneering at the limp body.

But in an instant, the monkey wakes back up again. Showing no interest in Snape, it cranes its neck from one side to the other, suddenly shrieking in apparent terror. It clambers back up the vines along walls before disappearing from view down a hole in the wall.

Confused at first, Snape simply waves off the silly creature as he turns back toward the middle courtyard. But as he walks he feels something odd in his feet. He can feel a sort of tingly sensation try and figure out what this might be. The more seconds pass by, the stronger the sensation feels, with the ground shaking beneath him. At first he wonders if this is an earthquake, but the more he thinks about it, the more it doesn't seem right. _Earthquakes are sudden_ he thinks to himself. _They do not grow in strength gradually…_

Another sensation joins the shaking of the earth – a sound. It is an unmistakable sound, one that causes Snape to bolt off down the corridor back toward the courtyard. He cranes his neck behind him a few times to see if it's coming toward him.

With a tremendous crash, something explodes through the solid stone wall at the end of the corridor. Charging through the dust and debris are several slate grey rhinoceros, galloping swiftly down the hall toward Snape. The walls keep the direction of the stampeding herd fairly linear as they rampage through the inside of the castle.

Professor McGonagall sees Snape first, running as if the Devil himself were behind the man. When he finally makes it back to the courtyard, before she can even say anything, Snape bellows, "SHIELD CHARMS! MAXIMUM SHIELD CHARMS! NOW!" turning around and pointing his wand I front of him.

Before she can ask what's he's talking about, it soon become all too horrifically apparent when she says the enormous horned beasts careening down the corridor in their direction. She parrots his directions to the other teachers. "Maximum shield charms, everyone!" pointing her own wand toward the herd.

Several cries of _Protego maxima_ ring out from the courtyard as every teacher, as well as many of the older students, join together to cast the most powerful shield charm they can muster. Each one draws as much of their magical strength as they can to make the shield as solid as can be. Professor McGonagall can do nothing but stare forward, cold sweat running down her face, her heart pounding terrifically beneath her chest, knowing that if this shield charm fails, it will be the end of everyone in the courtyard.

The rhinos grow closer and closer, not slowing down a bit as they continue on their path. They swing their huge heads up and down, brandishing their long nasal horns over their wide, square-shaped lips. Just as they are about to collide head first into the stone columns separating the middle courtyard from the corridor inside, they smash into something invisible. The impact sends shocks through everyone supporting the shield charm, shocks so powerful they nearly stun everybody. The shield charm works: the courtyard is safe.

But although the stampede doesn't continue through the crowd, the shield charm doesn't manage to stop it either. Instead, the rhinos at the front of the herd change direction, veering sharply to the left, bursting effortlessly through the small stone doorframe leading to another chamber of the castle. Rhinoceros pass by the dozen, so close the McGonagall can see their small, lazy-looking eyes as they pass. As the rhinoceros continue to pass them, McGonagall and the others discover that not only rhinoceros are part of this herd. Gigantic elephants thunder by as well, each one nearly twice the size of a regular elephant. They don't run exactly, but speed-walk, still managing about 25 miles per hour. Each one as a pair of formidable tusks, and raises its trunk to let out a terrifying trumpet, like horn blown before a great battle. And lastly, as the last of the elephants and rhinoceros pass by, dozens of black and white striped zebras gallop frantically up from the back of the herd.

In less than a minute, the stampede has passed. As it leaves them behind, they can still feel the shaking of the ground under their feet, and the din of their pounding footsteps against the stone floor. Eventually, the shaking and the cacophony begin to fade, and the whole courtyard breathes a huge sigh of relief. Professor McGonagall leans forward to look at the path of destruction leading through the castle, the stampede already out of view. They leave behind tons of rubble, clouds of dust, and holes in the wall you'd think had been left by a dragon. Professor McGonagall's heart flutters as the drain of having to perform such a powerful shield charm weighs on her heart, and her head spins as she tries to fathom the sheer power of that stampeding herd of wild beast


	9. Chapter 9: The Collapse of Hogwarts

Dean, Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati peer around the threshold to the History of Magic Classroom, which is nearly as empty as they were expecting it to be. However, there are a few of the brilliant violet flowers growing along the walls, their petals fluttering in excitement as they sense the presence of the students. But before they can get a change to shoot their venomous barbs, Dean cuts them down with a few neatly-placed severing charms. The flowers fall to the floor, their petals opening and closing meekly in their last throws of life. With the coast clear, they all enter, Dean setting the game board down on Professor Binns' desk. "Right," he says, "Lavender."

She nods nervously, picking up the dice and giving them a quick roll, flinching slightly as she lets them go. The first lands on a one, and the other lands on a three, putting her rhinoceros token another four spaces to bring her total to thirteen.

 _All over the mire,  
and up from the mud,  
they're crawling this way  
to suck out your blood._

"Ew!" Lavender says, the rhyme alone causing her to squirm in discomfort.

Standing up, they all scan the ground around them, looking for any sign of activity. It doesn't take Dean long to spot something. Crawling out from under a raised tree root, he sees what looks like a fat, jet black worm inching its way along the ground directly toward him. It has no eyes, nose, or ears – just a single, perfectly round sucker for a mouth, which winds its way over the ground almost like a metal detector, always honing in on Dean's direction.

It is not alone. Dean catches sight of another, pulling its limbless body over the forest floor like a purposeful inch worm. One more. Three more. Ten more. Dozens of these large worms, each measuring about three inches long, are creeping up through the muck, all of them making a bee line for the students.

"Let's get out of here!" Seamus says, picking up the game board and heading for the class exit. Neither Dean, Lavender, or Parvati need any convincing. They head for the exit, stepping over the hordes of hungry leeches as if playing a truly unnerving game of hop scotch. Luckily, the leeches still more at the pace of an inch worm, so it is very easy for the four Gryffindors to get past them and out the door. Parvati, being the last to leave, shuts the door firmly, the sound of the door slamming echoing loudly throughout the corridors.

"Not so loud!" Dean says, hoping he was only imagining the sound of laughter nearby.

"Seamus!" Lavender says, standing behind him and pointing at his neck.

"What?" Seamus asks, half confused, half terrified by her tone.

"You've… you've got one on your neck!" Lavender whispers.

Seamus isn't sure how to react. At first he wants to confirm it for himself, but he can't see out the back of his head, and he is not at all keen on reaching back to touch it. He freezes in place before saying, "Well, somebody, get it off! Quick!"

Dean goes up to Seamus from behind, seeing the leech grow steadily fatter as more and more of Seamus' blood flows into its bloated gut. Though nowhere as squeamish as Lavender, even he can't help but scrunch his nose in disgust at the sight. He picks up his wand and points the tip directly on the leech's body. " _Incendio_ ," he says softly, the tip of his wand glowing bright orange.

A soft hiss sounds from the point of contact, and the leech flails frantically in place, still anchored to Seamus' neck by its mouth parts. Finally, as its segmented body catches fire, it drops from his neck, falling to the ground.

"Thanks for that," Seamus says, rubbing the back of his neck and feeling a light trickle of blood.

Dean nods. "Let's all check ourselves, make sure we haven't got any more on us."

They spend the next couple of minutes check themselves thoroughly. In the end, despite the expansive covering their school uniforms give them, they discover one on Parvati's ankle, and two on Lavender: one by her shoulder and another in a spot so tender, she makes them all look away before torching the leech.

"Right then," Dean says, setting the game board down just outside the History of Magic classroom. "Back to me." He gives them all a brief moment to mentally ready themselves before he rolls the dice. He gets a six and a three, which not only puts his elephant token ahead nine more spaces, but also puts him only four spaces away from the center. "Almost there."

"Well, go on, let's read it," Seamus says as they all lean forward.

 _Rain for months;  
the summer's gift.  
But hills that are drowned  
begin to shift. _

At first, they wonder if the Bloody Baron has returned to them, given the long, painful groan that rings throughout the entire castle. But it soon becomes clear that this sound is coming from within the walls themselves. They follow the sound as it begins on the south end of the corridor, moving north over their heads. Next, they hear a deep rumbling sound from under their feet, which is accompanied by a sudden, violent shaking that nearly sends Seamus and Parvati colliding face first with the floor.

"What's happening?" a panicked Lavender shrieks over the rumbling ground.

But before anyone can answer, a tremendously powerful jolt shoot through all of them as the entire floor beneath their feet lurches forward with an ear-splitting crack and a great, deep boom. The floor continues to shake, growing ever more violent as dust begins to fall from the ceiling. And then, in an instant, the floor cracks open about a few hundred feet in front of them, causing the corridor to tilt downwards sharply. All four of them begin to slide down, falling on to their bellies as they skid painfully over the uneven forest floor covering the stone ground.

All around them, gigantic chunks of stone begin to fall from the ceiling overhead, landing with a fantastic crash that splits their ears. More gigantic pieces of the castle begin to crack off and smash into pieces at every turn. Their senses bombarded with so much chaos raining down all around them, none of them can make heads or tails of what exactly is happening. For what little they can tell, it just appears as if, for no apparent reason, the entire Hogwarts castle is falling to pieces.

As they slide further and further down the corridor, Dean catches sight of the edge, and of the churning ground and waves of mud and debris rolling over outside, into the lake. And In that instant, Deans brain does several things at once. It supplies with adrenaline to give him extra strength while also telling his hands to reach out and grab something. As his fingers wrap themselves around a firmly anchored tree root, Dean shouts out to the others, "HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!"

They don't hear his exact words, but the sound of his voice draws their eyes toward him, and they see him clinging for dear life to the tree root. Each one of them also manages to find a point to ground themselves, keeping themselves from sliding down the fractured corridor into the brutal mudslide raging below, which would surely mash their frail bodies into a fine pulp.

Held in place against the fourth floor corridor, the entire castle continues to descend into the swirling mixture of water, mud, and rubble pouring in great white walls of water into the lake. The edge of the corridor collides with the great dark green waters, which soon envelops all four of them in frigid blackness. The sudden shock of ice cold water shocks their systems, causing all of them to let go and float up toward the surface, even as the corridor continues to sink below them.

Seamus's head is the first to clear the surface, followed by Parvati, Dean, and Lavender. They all watch in terrified awe as nearly one half of the entire castle breaks off from the rest. Towers crumble to ruin. Huge blocks of stone slam against the surface of the lake with loud splashes. The ground beneath the castle has turned to soft mud, lacking any kind of integrity, flowing like brown water over layers of grimy waves into the green depths of the lake.

"The game!" Dean cries out, seeing it bob up like a piece of drift wood from underwater. He swims over to it, putting his arms over it like a miniature life raft. His body supported, Dean begins to pant heavily as the exhaustion of the catastrophe begins to set in. He looks at the other three, who are also clearly drained by the disaster. "Come on," he says to them between pants, "we have to get to shore."

A few minutes later, and all four of them are lying defeated and covered in mud on the shores of the lake, still struggling to take in what they've just witnessed. Seamus' lies on his back staring straight up at the cloudy sky, his left hand over his chest. Lavender lays on her stomach, not having quite enough strength yet to sit up. Parvati sits on her knees, rubbing her thighs with her hands absentmindedly. Dean merely lays on his side, the game still under one of his arms

As they stare out across the surface of the lake, still rippling from the crumbling stones slapping the water and sinking to the bottom, they are left in pure shock. Hogwarts Castle looks almost as if it has been cut in half, with one half now partway to being submerged beneath the waters of the Great Lake. The remaining remnants still stand proud and resilient, even as dense weeds and vines snake their way across the stone surface, and numerous tree branches stick out from the sides.

"I can't do this," Lavender says in a quiet voice. "I can't do this."

Nobody answer her at first. It's not as if any one of them is keen to say 'oh don't worry Lavender, it's really not so bad.' After seeing half of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – one of the most powerfully secure wizarding fortresses in the world – crumble in half at the roll of a pair of dice, it becomes more apparent than ever just how dangerous this game is. Pitting them against the forces of nature – no matter how big or how small – makes them feel for the first time in their short lives how utterly insignificant and helpless they are as human beings. But as Lavender begins to sob quietly, they all know that somebody has to say something.

"We should never have started playing," Dean says. "We should never have agreed to hold on to it."

"What the hell is this…this thing?" she asks in a shaking voice, staring at the game board with wide eyes. "Where did it come from? How could it possibly have wound up at Hogwarts?"

"Who knows," Seamus says blankly.

"I can't keep playing," Lavender says, staring down at the muddy lakeshore. "What if something even worse than that happens? Even Dumbledore was no match for this thing."

"Come on, Lavender," Dean says, reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder. "We've made it this far. Look, I'm only four spaces away. By my next turn-"

"By your next turn, we could all be dead already!" she snaps at him, throwing his hand off her shoulder. "What's next? A hurricane? An earthquake? A tidal wave?" Dean looks briefly at the closed game board, noticing the smoking mountains looming in the background behind the big white letters that spell out 'Jumanji.'

"Lav," Parvati says softly, scooting closer to her. "We have to keep playing. We don't have any other choice."

"I can't do it!" Lavender says more forcefully. "We're only thirteen! We can't be expected to fix this on our own!"

"That's not the point," Dean says. "Like Parvati said. We have no choice. Do you want to think about what this game might do to you if it thinks you'll stop playing?"

Lavender's face shows that she clearly has not considered this possibility. "I just…I just can't. I can't," she says quietly.

"Remember Lavender," Seamus says. "Once we finish the game, it'll all go away. Everything will be back to normal."

When Lavender still shows no signs of continuing, Dean says, "Oh come on, Lavender," in a tone that causes Parvati to look scandalized. "In our first year, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger all went up against all that stuff the teachers set up to guard the Philosopher's Stone. And when they reached the end, Harry had to fight against…against You-Know-Who. And at the end of last year, Harry went up against You-Know-Who and a basilisk! If he can do all that in just his first and second years, why can't we?"

"We're not Harry Potter," Lavender points out.

"Oh what's so damn special about Harry Potter anyway?" Dean asks, sounding annoyed, though not at Lavender. "He's had all this stuff happen, and gotten out on top, but…I mean, he's just a kid! You know him, I know him, there's nothing really special about him at all. He's not even top of our year for Christ's sake! If he can save the day, why can't we?"

All four of them exchange looks with one another. After nearly five minutes of silence, Lavender takes a deep breath and says in a voice that they can barely hear. "Fine."

Dean nods. "Okay," he says, picking up the game, "come on, let's find some place drier to play."

But as he stands back up again, something erupts from the water mere feet from them. The sudden sound, accompanied by a white sheet of water raining down on them, sends the four students bolting away from the lakeside. As the water falls to the muddy shore, it reveals the hippopotamus, having been let into the lake when the mud slide destroyed the Entrance Hall.

The sudden shock gives them a good head start, their legs propelling themselves over the grounds at the fastest speed they've ever moved at. But despite weighing a few tons, and trotting along on fast, stubby legs, the hippopotamus moves with surprising swiftness. Within no time at all, it closes the distance between them, its mouth opening with startling wideness to reveal a set of monstrous, ivory tusks. Parvati, having the shortest legs of the bunch, is the first to find herself the target of its rampage. She can feel its hot breath pushing up the hairs on the back of her neck; hear its deep, guttural grunts brewing from the back of its throat. She closes her eyes, awaiting the bear-trap-like jaws to slam shut over her, rending her in two.

But just as she expects to be bitten in half, the hippo comes to a complete stop. Gratefully curious, she spins around to see what had happened. When she does, she gives out a single cry. "Hagrid!"

Her cry causes the others to stop and look as well. When they do, they see the 12 foot frame of the Hogwarts gamekeeper, and recent Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Rubeus Hagrid, wrestling with the titanic herbivore. If any other man had tried this, they'd be chewed to bits within seconds. But standing at about twice as tall as an average man, and being three times as broad, Hagrid is able to wrap his arms around the hippo's torso and hold it in place.

"Oh no, you don't!" Hagrid calls out through clenched teeth, pushing his right hand against the hippo's face. Using all of this strength, Hagrid manages to push the hippo away from its course toward the students, swatting it over its eyes to try and get it to turn around. The angry hippo doesn't make it easy for him, snapping ferociously at him and throwing its weight on to his arms. But in the end, Hagrid wins the struggle. As he manages to turn the hippo around back toward the lake, he swats its backside and says, "Away with you, you silly creature."

When the hippopotamus is gone from sight, having disappeared below the surface of the lake once more, Hagrid turns to the four students with a look of utter bewilderment in his beetle-black eyes, shining from behind a tangled mane of long black hair and beard. "Wha' are you three doin' 'ere outside the castle?"

The four of them exchange confused and exhausted looks, as if debating silently where the best place to begin the story is. "Well, I…er…" Dean says.

But Hagrid waves him off. "Nevermn' tha' now. Why don' you just tell me wha' the ruddy hell is goin' on aroun' here. I was jus' waterin' the pumpkin patch, an' I look up, an' the whole castle is covered in bloody vines. I try goin' up to the castle to see wha's goin' on, but I can' get in. The vines are too thick, and I can' get through them to the doors to the Entrance Hall. I was gettin' worried for a while there. Was even thinkin' of writin' to the ministry if somethin' didn' happen.

"But as I was headin' up to the owlery, I eard this huge noise comin' up from the castle. I looked out an'….well, it looked like…like the entire ground underneath jus' sor' of…collapsed, I mean…as if the entire Southern 'alf of the castle was caught in some kind of…mud slide. Never seen anythin' like it in nearly 50 years…an' now I see we've got a hippopotamus in the lake as well. Strange…very strange…I don' suppose any 'a you know what's goin' on, do ya?"

None of them are entirely sure of what to say. Explaining the situation to Hagrid feels like it would take too much time. But on the other hand, Hagrid has just saved them from an attacking hippo, and they can't help but feel bad for the confusion Hagrid is no doubt feeling. Rubbing the back of his head, Dean says, "Well…Professor…it…it's a bit of a long story…"

At first, Hagrid doesn't recognized being addressed as 'Professor' but when he gets over it, he sighs a little and says, "Why don' you come and have a cuppa tea at me hut. You can tell me wha' you know there, wha' do ya say?"

In the end, they all agree, thankful for finding a good reason to take a break from playing. Dean hopes to himself that this may help to calm Lavender enough for them to continue with renewed strength. They follow Hagrid through the grounds, turning around the half of Hogwarts still standing. They struggle to keep up with his enormous strides, Parvati having to jog just to keep pace. Eventually, they see the tall point at the top of Hagrid's hut sitting in front of the edge of the Forbidden Forest, a patch of gigantic pumpkins growing in a fenced off patch right next to it. The boarhound, Fang lays at the foot of Hagrid's front door. He doesn't react when he sees them.

"Poor Fang," Hagrid says, patting the sad-looking hound on the head a few times. "Was nearly eaten by a huge yellow pod plant by the fron' doors. I'd-a thought Professor Sprout woulda done summit about tha', bu' I guess not." They all take a seat at the table as Hagrid puts a kettle on the stove. As Dean takes his seat, he sets the game board down in front of them silently. Hagrid glances briefly at it before turning back to the kettle. "Wha's that ya got there, Dean?" he asks casually.

Dean takes a deep breath. "This," he begins, "is the reason everything's gone wrong today."

Hagrid furls his harry brow as he turns to look at Dean properly. "I…what do you mean?"

"This is board game," Dean says, "And it's cursed."

Hagrid listens intently as he prepares their tea, as well as a few of his home-made rock cakes for them to snack on. The more they tell him, they more enraptured he becomes. "Blimey," he says. "All that jus' from a little thing like that?" he says pointing to the game. They nod. "Merlin's Beard…gotta wonder how summit like that ended in Filch's office."

"We were wondering the same thing," Seamus says, taking a bite of one of the rock cakes, only to wince slightly.

Seeing Seamus' discomfort, Dean leans in closely and whispers, "Could be worse. Could be long pork." Seamus gives him a nasty look.

Not hearing them, Hagrid says, "What about the teachers. I'd-a thought they'd protect ya. I know Dumbledore'd never put students in danger like this."

"They did try to help us," Lavender says. "But they got caught up with other things, and Professor Dumbledore…well, he…."

Hagrid notices the trepidation in her voice immediately. "Is he alright!?" he asks.

"He's…well, he's sleeping, Professor," Parvati says to him.

Still not entirely used to the moniker, Hagrid shifts in his seat and says, "Sleepin'…why would Dumbledore be sleepin' at a time like this?"

"It was the game," Dean says, gesturing to the board. "It didn't like that he was helping us, so it put him into an enchanted sleep."

"That doesn' seem very fair," Hagrid says.

"The game has some really weird rules," Parvati says. "There's nothing in the rules that say that Dumbledore couldn't help us. So the game let Dean go twice as far along in exchange for putting Dumbledore to sleep."

"That's just ruddy confusin' that is," Hagrid says, putting a balled fist on the table. "How does the game work? Wha'r the rules?" Dean decides to open up the game board and allow Hagrid to see for himself. Once Hagrid sees the pieces on the board, and reads the rules on the flaps, he strokes his beard. "Hmm..an' every time one of ya rolls the dice, the game conjures somethin' else for ya to face?"

"That's right," Dean says.

Hagrid doesns't say anything for a while. As he takes a sip of tea, he asks them, "Who's turn is next?"

They all take a moment to think. "Oh, I think it's mine," Seamus says.

"Would…would ya mind takin' yer turn, Seamus? I mean…righ' here an' now?" Hagrid asks cautiously.

"Oh no," Lavender says shaking her head. "Oh Hagrid, you don't want anything from this game inside your…house," she takes a second to pick the word. "What if it was destroyed?"

"Well, it's like ya said, innit?" Hagrid says. "Once one-a ya wins, everythin'll go back to normal, eh? And besides I…well, I'm actually a little curious to see what might come up next."

Dean actually manages to laugh a little. "I don't think you'd be very curious for long, Hagrid."

"Yeah well," Hagrid says with a shrug. "Besides, I migh' be able to protect ya if somethin' else dangerous comes out."

"No Hagrid, you can't!" Lavender says. "The game might do something horrible to you, like it did to Dumbledore!"

Hagrid waves her off, though he also can't help but smile a little. "Don' worry about me, Lavender," he says confidently, "I'm a big bloke, in case ya hadn't noticed." They all laugh at that comment. "I can look after me-self jus' fine."

After trading looks with one another, Seamus eventually picks up the dice and flicks his wrist to send them tumbling onto the game board. They land on a five and a six, and Seamus' monkey token glides along eleven spaces, putting him only two spaces away from the center. It is painful for them to see it stop so close, even as words begin to form in the inky black middle.

 _Neither camel nor spider  
their name can deceive  
But a more frightening creature  
you'll never conceive_

"Wonder wha' tha' can be, eh?" Hagrid asks in a perfectly conversational tone, oblivious to the nervous looks on the face of the four students.

Parvati and Lavender turn around in the chairs. "I thought I heard something!" Lavender says, clutching her knees to her chest and scanning the floor. Soon they can all hear it: a scuttling of many-jointed legs running over the floor, as well as along some of Hagrid's cabinets.

Far from afraid, Hagrid gets up and goes over to his cupboard. Rummaging through it for a bit, he proclaims, "Ahh! Gotcha, little bugger."

The creature he pulls out is every bit as frightening as the rhyme made it seem. Though dwarfed in Hagrid's immense hands, the creature is roughly the size of a small cat. It has what appear to be ten long, scurrying, spider-like legs, squirming madly and covered in thick hairs. There are two body segments: a rounded head, and an elongate, oblong abdomen. At first glance, it looks almost like a cross between a spider and a scorpion, though with neither fangs nor a stinger. Instead, a par of fat, crab-like pincers stick out from its face, snapping fiercely at Hagrid. The creature is dark brown, and looks as though it would be right at home under a log.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Seamus asks in utter disgust.

"It's a camel spider," Hagrid says, eyeing the creature with interest even as it continues to rapidly snap its claws at Hagrid's face. "Never seen one before, only ever read about 'em."

"Ew!" Lavender shrieks, looking away from it. "It's absolutely horrid looking!"

"Aw, I don' think so," Hagrid says fondly. "I think he's cute."

"Cute?!" Lavender says, as if Hagrid's statement is an insult to the very idea of cute.

Seamus laughs. "Just don't go showing it about in our next lesson."

Hagrid smiles but shakes his head. "No, I can' do that. They're not magic, ya see." There is a clear sound of disappointment in his voice.

An upturned bucket next to Parvati's right ankle gives a small shudder before it is pushed away by another camel spider. Parvati is much better able to appreciate the size and strangeness of the creature when it is mere inches away, staring at her with a pair of beady, black eyes one right next to the other. Parvati backs her chair up right into Lavender, and the two girls fall out of their chairs and onto the floor – only to discover another camel spider lurking under the table, its first pair of legs held up in a menacing position.

Dean has to suppress a smile at Lavender and Parvati's melodramatic reactions to the small creatures. But a thought does cross his mind. "Hagrid…are these dangerous?"

"I wouldn' think so, no," Hagrid says, still holding the camel spider. "They're not venomous. Could give ya a nasty pinch if yer not careful, but nothin' ya can' avoid if yer smart."

As if on cue, one of the camel spiders nips Lavender on her right ankle. She gives a painful yelp before kicking the pest away. "They're horrible!" she says in a face filled with disgust.

"Oh settle down, settle down," Hagrid says, picking up the camel spider Lavender had kicked. He puts it as well as the first in a bucket the size of a small barrel. By the time he's done, he's collected seven camel spiders from inside his hut, none of which are particularly happy to be shoved into a barrel. "There, that should take care of 'em," Hagrid says, sitting the barrel down in a corner of the room. "Is the game always like this?" he asks.

"No," Dean says. "Usually, it's way worse."

"Worse?" asks Hagrid curiously. "How so?"

"Army ants, man eating plants, flowers that shoot venomous barbs, hippos, monkeys, hyenas, cannibals, leeches, mud slides…" Dean says, trailing off.

"An' don' forget abou' that stampede," Hagrid points out.

The others look at him confusedly. "What stampede?" Seamus asks.

"Why- didn' ya hear? Didn' ya see?" Hagrid asks disbelievingly. "Abou' an hour ago, I saw this bloody grea' stampedin' herd of beasts come burstin' outta the castle. Rhinos and elephants and zebras an' all. They came burstin' through the walls on the first floor before tearin' off across the grounds, 'round the edge of the forest."

"That must have been your second roll," Dean says to Seamus.

"Blimey," Hagrid says, putting a handkerchief to his forehead. "Tha's quite a lot for a little thin' like that." He looks at the four of them for a second before giving a few chuckles.

"What is it?" Parvati asks, confused.

"Oh, it's, it's nothin'" he says with a smile. "It's jus'… I was thinkin', and…well, I'd of thought that it'd be Harry Potter, an' his friends, Ron an' Hermione who'd be in this situation."

"Why's that?" Seamus asks.

"Oh I dunnno," Hagrid says with a small shrug. "It's jus' those three seem to have a real knack for getting into trouble, stickin' their noses where they don' belong, see. Whereas you four, well…" and he trails off without finishing.

"We just sort of fade into the background," Dean says with a clear hint of bitterness. "That's what Fred and George Weasley said. It's why they gave it to us in the first place. Didn't think McGonagall would think to search us…and they were right."

Hagrid gives him a concerned look. "Whaddya mean?"

"It's like you said, Hagrid," Dean says. "It's Harry, Ron, and Hermione that are always off going on adventure, getting into trouble. Meanwhile, the rest of us just try to be good students, get our work done, pass our exams. Just a bunch of Gryffindors keeping their heads down, totally unremarkable."

"You say tha' as if it was a bad thing," Hagrid says, somewhat perplexed. "I wouldn' of minded a normal school life meself. I was expelled durin' me third year, see. Never even had a wand since," he says, his eyes darting ever so briefly to the vibrant pink umbrella sitting by the fireplace.

Dean looks suddenly away from Hagrid, a guilty expression on his face. "I'm sorry," he says, "I had no idea.

"Yeah, well," Hagrid says with a shrug, "Not as if I go 'round braggin' abou' it to folks now, is it?"

"Why…" Lavender begins tentatively, pausing. "Why were you expelled, Hagrid?"

Hagrid says nothing at first. " I, er… well, I'd rather not get into it now. Long story short, I got blamed fer doin' summit terrible to another student. Me name's been cleared officially, thanks to Dumbledore," and Hagrid takes a brief pause. "Great man, Dumbledore, Great man."

"I'm sorry Hagrid," Dean says again. "I didn't mean to-"

But Hagrid waves him off with a wave of his giant hand. "S'alright, Dean," he says, "I know ye didn' mean anythin' by it. But there's nothin' wrong with jus' leadin' a normal life, doing yer school work an' gettin' through yer exams. Harry and his friends get into these sorts of…predicaments 'cause they stick their noses where they don' belong, let me tell you," he says, waving a finger at Dean. "I love the three of 'em, but they can be a ruddy nightmare sometimes. Never know what to say 'round 'em."

"So basically," Seamus says, "what you're saying is that we could be getting into adventures too, if we just stuck our noses in other peoples' business."

Hagrid raises an eyebrow at him. "Not sure tha's how I'd put it, but basically, yeah, I spose so. But anyway, looks like ya found yer adventure after all," he says, looking at the game board.

"Though I don't think anyone's going to be cheering for us when it's all over," Dean says. "Even if everything goes back to normal, it will still have been our fault all along."

"Yeah, well," Hagrid says with a shrug. "As long as no harm's done, people tend to be more forgivin'. That's what I've found at least. Speaking of which-" he says, pointing to the game, "who's turn is it next?"

"Er, mine, I think," Parvati says, counting back past the last few turns to make sure.

"Well, no poin'n stallin, I say. Might as well get to it," Hagrid says decisively.

The four students look at one another nervously. "Are you sure about this Hagrid?" Seamus asks. "I mean, these… things weren't so bad, you know," he says pointing to the barrel of camel spiders. "But some of this stuff can be really dangerous. And if the game thinks you're trying to help us-"

But Hagrid cuts him off. "Don' you worry about me, Seamus. I'm made of tougher stuff than most folks give me credit for."

With Hagrid sounding final on his last words, the group's attention turns to Parvati, who picks up the dice and gives it a quick roll, landing on one and three, bringing her grand total to thirteen spaces from start. The crocodile moves forward the appropriate number of spaces, inching ever closer to victory. Reading the center, they see the words:

 _Try though you might,  
you'll never see  
their hides of purest  
ebony. _

Before they can even begin to contemplate what the rhyme means, they are interrupted by the loud, terrified barking of Fang outside. Their heads all spin toward the front door, as if expecting Fang to come inside and tell them what's going on. When this invariably fails to happen, Hagrid gets back up. "Wha' are you on about now, ya bloody coward," he says, moving toward the front door.

When he opens it up, he sees exactly what they all expect to be there, a frightened, energized Fang bounding up and down by Hagrid's hut. Hagrid puts his hand on the dog's head, trying his best to calm it. "Now now, Fang, Wha' are you on abou' now, eh?"

Standing behind Hagrid, Dean peers around his waist to look out at the grounds surrounding them at every turn. Given the volume and nature of the barking, Dean half expects the grounds to be swarming with dementors, but as far as he can tell, there's nothing. Except, he knows that's not true. It's as if his eyes have seen something, but his brain has yet to properly process the information to the point where he can tell what's going on. He can see something, he just can't tell what it is.

By the time he figures out what it is, it's too late. Out in front of Hagrid's hut, the grass flattens itself in small spaces and at several points. At first, there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to where, when, or how these odd movements of the grass are caused. But the answer soon makes itself apparent as the phenomenon shifts to a more recognizable pattern. The flattening of the grass begins to occur in a linear procession, looking to Dean most like –

 _Footsteps_!

By the time the word comes to mind, Fang is hoisted upwards from the ground, floating in mid air as if suspended from his chest. The poor boarhound gives an agonized yelping howl as it paws at the invisible mas in front of it, holding it up by unknown means. Along Fang's side, a trickle of dark, warm blood begins to drip slowly from the point where Fang seems to be held. The unknown assailant shakes Fang from side to side like a ragdoll, making deep snorting grunts as it moves, until finally tossing Fang aside. Fang struggles to get back up, pawing at the damp earth with his front paws, each feeble attempt ending with him slouching back to the ground

"FANG!" Hagrid roars with a mixture of rage and sorrow. He steps back inside and picks up a cross bow that suits a man of his size, already armed with a formidable arrow. He kicks the door open in one swift, sweeping motion of his left leg. "Get back!" he calls back to Dean, Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati. "It's invisible!"

With the knowledge that this new hazard, whatever it may be, is invisible, Dean pays less attention to his sense of sight, as if hoping the other senses will heighten to pick up the slack. Only now does Dean recognize the sound of the footsteps – like hooves pounding against firm ground. He also notices the faint, musky odor slipping inconspicuously up his nose. "What is it, Hagrid?" Dean asks.

Hagrid ignores the question. "Parvati, hand me tha' bucket on the counter, next to that jug of whiskey."

Parvati obeys, picking up the bucket, a look of pure revulsion growing on her face. She turns her face away from it. "Hagrid, what on earth is this?" she says, holding her nose.

"Yer much happier not knowin'" Hagrid says, taking the bucket from her, setting the crossbow down for a moment. "Come on, a little closer now…" he says quietly, watching the pounding hooves turning up dirt and tearing through grass. He steps down a few steps from his front door, as if trying to lure them closer to him by getting closer to them first.

Dean sees it again – the wave of churning blades of grass, like the wake of something large moving underwater, coming directly at Hagrid. But Hagrid smiles, thrusting the bucket forward and throwing its contents toward the oncoming assailant. The foul mixture of brown and black substances appears to splatter in mid-air as it collides with something about as tall as a horse. The substance takes on the contours of the unseen mass, creating a facial profile like that of a gigantic boar. The frustrated beast shakes its head from side to side, trying to throw off as much as the substance as it can. But the muddy mixture clings to its bristly hair tightly.

Apparently deciding that there is little point in trying to remain invisible, the rest of the creature materializes from the surrounding air. The rest of the beast's profile matches its revealed head well. Like a warthog the size of a mustang, the creature is covered in thick, bristly hair covered a deep black, with a long mane running down its neck. A pair of upward curving tusks protrude from underneath its wide snout. Unlike other warthogs, this giant form possess a large dome of solid bone sticking up from its forehead, surrounded by a series of smaller knobs and bosses. It grunts in frustration, pawing at the ground beneath its hooves.

Hagrid turns around quickly to retrieve the cross bow by his door frame, but as he does, Dean catches sight of something else. A second path of torn-up terrain comes into view heading directly toward Hagrid. Dean shouts, "Hagrid! Watch out! There's another-"

But before Hagrid can react, something charges right into his backside, causing Hagrid to cry out in pain. He stops in his tracks, falling to one knee and cursing madly. But before can anyone can react to the sudden appearance of a second warthog, the first one, having recovered from the shock of being sprayed with what everyone hopes was mud, begins galloping directly toward Hagrid as well. As it gets nearer, it lowers its head briefly before thrusting upwards, goring Hagrid in his side, precisely over his right leg.

The force of the assault causes Hagrid to turn over on his back, his eyes shut tight to try and keep the pain from escaping in the form of agonized screams. Cursing through clenched teeth, Hagrid does his best to try batting them away, but with each passing second, more and more of his strength drains away from him, gathering in dark pools around his body.

"HAGRID!" Dean shouts out. He points his wand at the two giant warthogs and cries out, " _Diffindo_!" But far from severing anything, the charm doesn't appear to leave so much as a dent on them. " _Incendio_!" Dean calls out, but the pigs prove to be fireproof as well.

Before Dean can try a third spell, Seamus reaches and grabs his arm. "It's no use, mate," Seamus says. "They must be resistant to magic."

But Dean refuses to let this stop him from trying to help Hagrid. He turns around to look inside Hagrid's hut, seeing it filled with an assortment of nick-knacks and flotsam, at least some of which must be of some kind of use. That's when he sees it.

"Seamus, give me a hand," Dean says, going over to the bucket of camel spiders. Reluctantly, Seamus goes over with Dean, and together, they manage to pick up the bucket and haul it over toward the threshold to Hagrid's hut.

"Are you sure about this?" Seamus asks.

"Not unless you've got a better idea," Dean asks, genuinely hoping that maybe Seamus does. When it becomes clear that he doesn't, Dean says, "On the count of three, alright?" Seamus nods. "One… Two…Three!"

On the mention of 'three', they both hurl the bucket outside toward the two oversized warthogs, the collection of camel spiders falling on top of them. The camel spiders use their pincers to get a grip on the pigs' bristly black hairs. When the camel spiders pinch the ebony hides of the warthogs, the pigs squeal in pain, bucking their back legs, throwing their massive heads from side to side, and flashing in and out of being invisible.

With the pigs distracted, Dean suddenly sees it – Hagrid's crossbow. Being fit for a man of Hagrid's stature, Dean has no hope of holding it up on his own. Instead, he sits down and balances it on his lap, taking aim at one of the pigs; the one half covered in mud. Pulling the trigger, the taught string releases the arrow in a single, lighting-fast motion, sending it straight into the haunches of the pig.

The squeal let out by the pig is so loud that all four of them have to cover their ears. It rears up on its hind legs, though can't maintain the position, given the arrow imbedded in the back of its thigh. Eventually deciding that attacking Hagrid is too much trouble, the warthog trots away, into the nearby forest to seek cover, followed closely by its mate.


	10. Chapter 10: Jumanji

Standing on the stone precipice overlooking the now-crumbled remains of half of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Professor McGonagall stares with glassy eyes over the broken battlements and scattered pieces of rubble still sinking into the lake. Silent tears creep down her cheeks. To her right, Professor Sprout weeps quietly into her old tattered witch's hat. To her left, Professor Flitwick looks down at the ground, not bearing to look at the destruction directly, as if afraid he'll be struck petrified. At the end of the line, is Snape, who stands tall and solemnly, his hands crossed over his waist, his head bowed as if respectfully mourning the loss of a beloved public servant.

"A thousand years," he says quietly. "A thousand years this castle has stood. And now, at the roll of a pair of dice, it has fallen."

"Not completely," Professor Sprout says, her eyes red and watery. "Not while one half of this castle stands, nor while there are students still in its walls to be protected."

"Here here," Professor Flitwick pipes up.

"This is certainly not the way I would have liked," Professor McGonagall begins, "but this… this has opened up a possible way of escape out of the castle."

"We'd better hurry, then" Professor Sprout says briskly. "I have a sneaking suspicion these plants will regrow soon enough, blocking our path once more."

"There's no time to lose then," Professor McGonagall says. "We can levitate students to ground level and have them gather on the grounds. Filius, Pamona, " she says, addressing Professors Flitwick and Sprout respectively, "you two will stand below and organize the students once they make it down. Severus and I will stay up here to lower the students ourselves." She looks at Snape, who nods to her.

Pulling out their wands, Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout twirl their wands over their heads, and they soon begin drifting weightlessly off the ground. But instead of floating upwards like a pair of balloons, the begin to sink through the air, as if floating down to the bottom of the ocean. While they descend Professor McGonagall and Snape make their way back to the middle courtyard to fetch the rest of the students.

As they move, Snape asks Professor McGonagall, "And once we've successfully evacuated the students, where then should we take them?"

"Hogsmeade, for now" Professor McGonagall. "If the situation continues to devolve, we may have to summon the Hogwarts Express."

"And what do you plan to tell the dementors once we reach the edge of the grounds?" Snape asks.

The question catches Professor McGonagall so off guard that she actually pauses for a moment, standing in place before taking the next step forward. "Blasted creatures. I had forgotten they were stationed at the entrances to the grounds. I doubt they'll understand the situation properly. If they believe that something is threatening the school, they will almost certainly use that as an excuse to get closer to the students."

"They will demand to know what's happening," Snape says knowingly. "Which will lead to the Ministry of Magic becoming involved, among other things."

"That is the last thing that needs to happen," Professor McGonagall says firmly. "If Fudge and his lot get ahold of this, I dread to think what might happen."

"I must confess," Snape say cooly. "I find it hard to imagine how much worse the situation can-"

But he is interrupted by a terrible shriek from up above them. A tall figure flies down from a hole in the wall overhead, brandishing a fierce-looking spear tipped with razor-sharp spikes. There is no visible face, save the expression of eternal horror painted on his wooden mask. His arms are raised in preparation to bring the tip of the spear down on Snape's greasy-hair-covered head, only for Snape to raise his wand and cast a wordless impediment jinx, causing the seven foot man to slow down in mid fall before collapsing face first to the ground.

"Severus!" Professor McGonagall says as several more of the tall figures, some black, some white, come leaping up from the hole in the wall, landing on one knee before standing at full eight, their spears held menacingly in their hands. The tallest of all has his mouth exposed, showing off his black teeth, dark red blood trickling from the corners of his mouth.

Both Snape and Professor McGonagall assume their best dueling stance, bearing their wands in the same way the hunters hold their spears. "You know the Headmaster's orders," Professor McGonagall says quietly. "Stun only." Keeping her eyes on the hunters, Professor McGonagall can still feel Snape's mouth thin in irritation at her words.

Dean doesn't wait for the two invisible warthogs to disappear completely before going over to the fallen Hagrid. Looking into Hagrid's eyes, he sees they're drooping heavily, as if Hagrid is doing his best to keep from falling asleep. His chest heaves unevenly up and down, as if each individual breath is a labor in and of itself. All along his waist, dark blood stains mark the points where the warthogs' tusks gored him, the blood still pouring out in a warm, oozing trickle. Hagrid holds his right hand up lazily, as if trying to swat through a cloud of flies that isn't there.

"Hagrid?" Dean says in a cracking voice, his hand on Hagrid's shoulder.

Hagrid opens his mouth to say something, only for a small spurt of blood to come up and onto his beard. After a few more seconds of wheezy, bloody grasping, Hagrid lets out a single raspy breath, and his hand falls to the grass.

"Hagrid?" Dean asks frantically, trying to shake Hagrid by his shoulder. When he gives no sign of a response, Dean feels the hot tears welling up in his eyes. He shuts them to try to keep the dam from bursting, only for them to look out over his cheeks and down his chin. He hears Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati approach him from behind, none of them saying a word. He hears a few sniffles from Lavender and Parvati, while Seamus remains stoic and silent.

In a fit of emotional whiplash, Dean gets up from the spot where Hagrid lays, his cooling blood still wetting the grass around him. He storms up the steps to Hagrid's hut, kicks open the door, and goes over to the table where the game board sits open. In a fit of blind fury, Dean picks up the board and throws it with all his might at the wall. It lands with a hard thud, the pieces all remaining fixed in place. He goes over to where it lands, and hurls it once again at the wall, hitting it with a loud crash. He does this several more times, without a single scratch appearing on the surface, the tokens remaining fixed in place.

Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati watch him from the doorway, unsure of how best to proceed. After about 10 minutes, Dean fully tires himself out, beads of hot sweat mixing with his tears, and the feeling of red hot blades clawing at his lungs. When he finally regains his breath, he turns to the three others and says, "Lavender. You're up." She looks at him with sparkling eyes, and a trepidation over whether to be more afraid of Dean or the game. When she doesn't move, Dean goes over to her and says in a loud voice, "Do you want to save Hagrid?!"

She winces at his anger. "I do," she says simply.

"Then take your damn turn!" he shouts. "Our only chance now is if we finish the game!"

"Oi, back off!" Seamus says, getting up in Dean's face. But Dean shoves him away forcefully. "What the hell was that for?"

"Playing the game was your idea!" Dean says, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Hagrid is dead because of you!"

"Don't you start that now!" Seamus says, stepping toward him again. "There's no goddamn point in blaming each other! Now do you want to keep playing, or do you want to stand around here, shouting at each other?"

"I want to keep playing," Dean says, "But Lavender is too much of a coward to take her turn!"

"Dean!" Parvati snaps at him, "How dare you! She's taken her turns just like everyone else, she wants to be done with this as much as anyone. We're all doing our best, so why don't you shut up and lay off Lavender!?"

As Dean's rage begins to quell, it becomes replaced quickly with a feeling of guilt, not only for Hagrid, but for blowing up at his friends as well. "I'm sorry," he says, not able to look at any of them. "I just want this to be over. I want everything to go back to normal."

"We all do," Seamus says, still hurt. Lavender and Parvati nod. "But we're never gonna get to the end if we start screaming at each other. We have to stick together if we have any hope of beating this thing." Dean nods his agreement, unable to speak due to the dryness in his throat.

"So, I suppose I should take my turn then?" Lavender asks.

"No, wait," Parvati says.

At first Dean is unsure of what her apprehension is until an odd sound fills the inside of Hagrid's hut. It sounds like the clanging and jingling of ceramic tea cups and teapots, and as they look around, they see that all of Hagrid's table ware is shaking very slightly. Looking around the room, they see that the same is true of his books, which are jiggling on their shelves. A light tingling sensation fells the bottoms of their feet, like the tickling of pins and needles.

With no clear signs as to where the shaking is coming from inside Hagrid's hut, Dean sticks his head out of Hagrid's door. Staring across the grounds, he sees something across the lake, over a section that would normally have been obscured by the walls of the castle if not for the mudslide. On the opposite shore of the Great Lake, a procession of huge wild beasts stampedes over the grounds, composed entirely of horned rhinoceros, gigantic elephants, and brilliantly striped zebras. They speed along at a furious pace, a cloud of dirt obscuring the motions of their legs. For the moment, the stampede is a good distance away from them, but as Dean watches their progress over the grounds, he comes to a startling conclusion.

"Quick!" Dean says. "We need to get out of here, now!"

The others have clearly reached the same conclusion that he has, knowing that, at the speed they're going, the stampede will be bearing down on Hagrid's hut within minutes. Dean turns back to grab the game before they abandon Hagrid's hut and begin heading toward the remaining battlements of the Hogwarts castle.

"Wait!" Lavender says. "What should we do about…about…." And she looks down at Hagrid's body, lying limp and lifeless on the grass by the pumpkin patch.

Though Dean cannot stand the thought of Hagrid's body still laying here when the stampede goes by, he also knows that, even if all four of them worked together, they'd never be able to move him out of harm's way in time. "Nothing we can do," he says, "come on!"

They all keep their heads down, doing their best to keep the sight of a trampled Hagrid out of their minds. This proves easier has more time passes; the shaking of the ground beneath their feet grows more rigorous and violent, and the sound of booming footsteps galloping over the grass grows ever louder. They do not look back to see if the herd has rounded the corner of the lake shore, heading straight toward them. It's bad enough for them to imagine the horns, tusks, and hooves of the oncoming mass of animal tonnage.

Lavender looks back, and sees the lead rhinoceros charging at full speed toward them, its eyes hidden on the sides of its head. Parvati looks back, and sees the nearest elephant raise and curl its trunk with its ears flared forwards. The herd is now close enough to the point where they can hear the low grunts and snorts of the rhinoceros, in addition to the blood-chilling trumpets of the elephants. The stampede moves with horrific speed, and if not for their head start, all four of them know that they'd have been flattened long ago.

Finally, Dean reaches the shadow of the stone ruins, ducking behind the nearest wall still standing. "In here!" The other three join him, but as he take his place beside the stone wall, out of the path of the stampede, he sees Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick standing among the debris, looking over at them with befuddled expressions.

But before anyone can say anything, the head of the stampede thunders past the broken battlements of Hogwarts castle, not stopping or slowing, paying the bystanders no heed as they continue on their way. The seismic shocks coursing through the shaking ground nearly paralyze the six of them in place, shutting their eyes to try and block out the discomfort. Each footstep of the stampede kicks up a cloud of dust that rises high into the air before drifting lazily back down, and settling on everything around them. The catastrophic parade of mega-fauna continues to rumble past them all for another few minutes, until the tail end of the stampede finally passes them by, a lone rhinoceros snorting and panting as it struggles to keep up with the rest of the herd.

As the tremulous motion of the ground and the roar of the stampede's movement begins to fade away, everyone breathes a sigh of relief, the four students finally having the freedom to recover their lost breath from their sprint from the grounds.

When the silence between them all becomes too awkward, Professor Sprout calls out to them, "Thomas, Finnegan, Brown, Patil, are you alright?"

"We're fine," Dean says automatically, though he forces himself to consider how true his answer is or isn't.

"Do you need any assistance?" Professor Flitwick asks, climbing on top of a large piece of rubble so they can see and hear him better.

"No!" Dean, Seamus, and Parvati all say at once. Lavender hesitates for a moment before shaking her head as well.

"Are you sure?" Professor Sprout asks with an air of confused irritation. "Professor McGonagall told us about… what happened. Are you sure you can't use our help in some way?"

"We're positive," Dean says. "In fact, the farther away we are from anyone else, the better," Dean says with firm conviction.

"But-" Professor Flitwick begins, only for Dean to cut him off.

"The last person to try and help us was gored to death," Dean says darkly.

His words cause both Professors to freeze in place, their faces going pale as expressions of horror come over their eyes. After a while, Professor Flitwick asks in a quiet voice, "Who…who was it?"

"Hagrid," Seamus says in an equally quiet voice.

"We have to do this on our own," Dean says, almost pleadingly. "The more people get in the way, the more people will die."

"I see," Professor Sprout says, her eyes growing sad. "I take it you'll want to get going then?" Professor Sprout asks. They nod. "Well, off you go then. Head up to what's left of the fifth floor, those corridors seem to be the strongest still standing. We'll be evacuating the rest of the students to Hogsmeade."

"Good," Dean says to her before turning back to others. "Come on, we're nearly there. Just a few more turns and this will all be over, and everything will turn back to normal."

"What about Hagrid?" Lavender asks.

"What about him?" Dean asks.

"Well… if we finish the game, will he come back, or…" and she leaves it on him to finish the question in his mind.

Dean has not yet considered this conundrum. The game's rules, he realizes, are frustratingly vague. _The exciting consequences of the game will vanish only once a player has reached Jumanji and called out its name._ Hagrid's death was of course a direct consequence of the game, as was the collapse of Hogwarts. But he also knows full well that the rules may simply be referring to those things which the game itself conjures.

"No magic can bring back the dead," Seamus says, looking down. "That's what my mum told me once, when my Papa died."

"Maybe this game is different," Dean says. "I mean, it's obviously very powerful. Maybe…" but he knows he is only thinking wishfully. Seamus' look tells him as much, with his pitying gaze. Dean goes quiet for a moment. "I guess we'll just have to find out."

Following Professor Sprout's instructions, they take the stairs up to the fifth floor, which – like the rest of the remaining castle – is still swallowed by jungle foliage, including the carnivorous yellow pods, and the venomous purple flowers. They move past a door to the hospital wing tower, completely abandoned even by Madam Pomfrey, and down to the Muggle Studies showroom. Setting the board down on the table, Dean opens it back up and hands the dice to Lavender. "Good luck," he says to her.

She gulps, nods, and takes the dice from him. She tosses them onto the board, flinching slightly when the make contact. To everyone's excitement, she gets two sixes, and her rhinoceros token slides forward twelve spaces, for a total of 25. She will get to roll again, and if she gets a seven, she will win.

"Nearly there!" Seamus whispers.

As the misty green letters begin to form in the pitch black center, Lavender reads the rhyme aloud to them.

 _Beware this monster's  
horrid breath.  
One whiff ensures  
a painful death. _

A silent dread fills the room. Not one of them makes a sound, not even daring to breathe. They look with their eyes from one corner of the classroom to the other, wondering what this might mean. The silence does nothing to ease their fears; it only amplifies them.

CRASH

The wall behind Seamus crumbles to pieces as something truly gigantic burst forward into the classroom. At first, they are worried that it's the stampede, until logic and reason remind them that they are five floors up. When the dust finally clears, they get their first true look at the game's latest challenge.

It appears superficially like a leopard, save for the fact that it stands over 30 feet tall at its eye line. It stares down at them with a pair of deep, sickly green eyes, each dotted with a small black pupil. The short, cropped fur covering its pelt is colored sandy yellow, with a pale grey hue running down its hide. Dark spots dot the surface of its fur, most prominent on its back, sides, and face. There's no mistaking its furious intentions, with its rounded ears flared backwards, and its fleshy muzzle curled back to reveal its fearsome set of teeth.

For a moment, the entire scene seems frozen in time. There is no visible motion anywhere in the room, save the sides of the giant cat pushing in and out with each of its breaths, and the dust slowly coming to rest in the classroom. Dean and Parvati's eyes are practically bulging from their eyes. Lavender's hands are covering her mouth. Seamus' face is fixed in a dull expression, as if he's unable to contemplate fully what has just happened.

The tension is broken when the cat opens its mouth even further, curling back its lips to reveal more of it yellow teeth and black-red gums, and lets out a long low hiss. As it exhales, a wave of foul-smelling air wafts over the four students, whose eyes water from just how pungent the odor is. It causes them to gag, their eyes watering slightly.

Dean tries to give the order to run, but it comes out as a series of violent coughs. However, the command is hardly needed, and the four students make a bee line for the door, even as the leopard takes a step into the room.

Once they are through the doorway to the classroom, standing just outside the threshold, they turn around, hoping that the monster will be stopped by tiny door frame. But just as before, it crashes through the stone wall with ease, snarling ferociously at them, prompting them to run further down the corridor. The massive cat is too big to move comfortably or swiftly through the corridor, but it still manages to crouch low and prowl through the wide, open halls, like a house cat slinking off to hunt a group of mice. They don't stop

As they pass by the doorway to the hospital wing tower, Dean stops them and directs them to head up the stairs. With little in the way of options, they follow him up the spiraling stairs. Just as Parvati clears the threshold, a paw as wide as a child's kiddy pool slams down on the stone floor, its four scythe-like claws scraping the ground, leaving deep gashes in the rock. As they ascend the stairs, the cat tries to reach in further with its paw and snatch at them, letting out nasally roars with each failed swipe.

They don't stop until they finally reach the top of the tower, which looks mostly like a disused attic. A few boxes covered in grime and cobwebs sit in a corner alongside an ancient-looking chest. When they shut the door behind them, the strain their ears for any signs of the monster. Knowing that they must now be several stories up the tower, they breathe a collective sigh of relief.

 _Boom_

Dean feels it. He thinks the others did too judging by the looks on their faces. At first they hope that was a fluke, a one off not worth worrying over.

 _Boom_

Two makes a pattern. They are all dead certain that they felt it this time – the tower shaking slightly as if being pounded from the outside.

 _Boom_

 _Boom_

 _Boom_

Before they can think of what to do, the cone-shaped tower roof collapses inside, huge chunks of stone raining down upon them. They cover their heads, shielding themselves against any of the larger boulders. Thankfully none of them end up with a concussion, but that is of little comfort to them when they look back up and see the immense paw of the giant leopard dipping into the room from a hole in the tower ceiling. Dean's mind conjures an image of the cat on the outside of the tower, clawing its way up the surface, its claws digging into the spaces between stones. Judging by the erratic nature in which it slashes at them, Dean can guess that its footing isn't the best, and that it's most likely struggling to remain against the tower. However, this makes it no less dangerous as it continues to swat at them, breathing out more noxious-smelling fumes that burn their lungs with each inhalation.

The leopard tries to enlarge the hole in the ceiling, hoping to make it easier to get at them. But as it smashes its paw into the tower roof, the shock from the impact travels all the way down the stone walls, shattering the integrity of the entire hospital wing tower. Dean, Seamus, Parvati, and Lavender all feel the ground give out from underneath them. The sensation is similar to that of the mud slide that overtook the ruined half of the castle, only this time it is much more sudden and severe. The walls come apart, stone by stone, and bright rays of light shine through from outside.

Knowing what needs to be done, Dean points his wand at Lavender and cries out, "Wingardium leviosa!"

Even as everything around Lavender continues to fall, she remains stationary in the air. Dean turns to use the levitating charm on Parvati and Seamus, who is considerate enough to use it on Dean himself. Working together, the four students keep themselves levitated while the entire hospital wings tower falls in a rising cloud of dust. The giant leopard falls to the ground as well, twisting in mid –fall so that it lands on its feet, albeit with a hard thud.

Circling below, the leopard snarls and spits in frustration as it stares up at its unreachable quarry. Finally, deciding that it has better things to do, it throws its head back with a bone-chilling roar, and sulks away toward the grounds. Once the beast is no more than a black dot prowling along the edge of the Forbidden Forest, they feel comfortable enough to allow themselves to descend to the ground.

As the sheer terror of being pursued by a leopard larger than a Tyrannosaurus rex begins to finally wear off, Dean notices the painful, burning feeling in his chest. He had hoped that this feeling would dissipate once the cat was away. Instead, the exact opposite seems to be happening. Once back on the ground, it becomes clear just how strained and painful every breath is, as if each exhalation is accompanied by hot knives slicing through his lungs. Looking around at the others, he notices that they are also in a bad way. Seamus gives a few harsh, raspy coughs, which he guards with his left arm. Lavender's eyes look bloodshot, and Parvati's nose is bleeding profusely.

"I… I think that might have been a nundu," Seamus says, taking another moment to cough like man who'd spent the last 40 years smoking.

"What's a nundu?" Lavender asks.

"That was, I guess," Seamus says. "There was an entry on them in _Fantastic Beasts, and Where to Find Them_. They're giant leopards, basically, and they live in Africa. They're supposed to be the most dangerous beasts in the whole wizarding world."

"Even more dangerous than a dragon?" Lavender asks, resting herself against a stone column. "Or a basilisk?"

"Ron told that his brother works at a dragon reserve in Romania," Seamus says. "It takes about ten wizards to stun a dragon, according to him. But a nundu's never been taken down by less than 100 wizards all working together."

Parvati gives a small gasp. "What makes them so dangerous?"

"Is it their breath?" Dean says in jest as a tear rolls down his face.

But Seamus doesn't laugh. "Actually, yes it is. Their breath causes sickness and disease. It can wipe out whole villages." Only now does the game's rhyme come into focus again for Dean.

 _Beware this monster's  
horrid breath.  
One whiff ensures  
your painful death._

His heart suddenly races as he realizes what's happening to them. He tries to speak, only to break out in a fit of coughs. When he finally manages to finish, he says, "The nundu's breath. It's going to kill us."

"It can't!" Lavender says pointlessly as her eyes grow even redder.

"Oh please," Dean says, his patience long sine dead. "Not only can it, it's already started. Seamus look at your sleeve!" When Seamus looks at the spot on his sleeve where he had coughed, he notices dark patches of blood on the black fabric.

"We have to get to Madam Pomfrey!" Lavender says.

"No," Dean says defiantly. "Our only hope now is to finish the game. Lavender, you're one roll away from winning. And if you don't, I'm only four spaces away. We can end this thing in just two turns!"

Parvati gives a strong sniff as more blood creeps down her nose. "How…how long do we have left before the disease…" she doesn't bother to finish.

"Not a clue," Seamus says, looking down.

"Then there's no time to waste," Dean says. "Come on, let get back to the game! Let's end this."

They hobble over back to the remnants of the Muggle Studies Showroom, where the game lies sideways on the floor, the pieces still place as ever, but with the dice sitting on the floor beside it. Dean wipes away the tears gathering in the corners of his eye – noticing very briefly that said tears are pink – and sets the game back on the table, handing the dice to Lavender. "Fingers crossed," he says to her.

With a determined look on her face, Lavender take in a quick breath through the nose and rolls the dice. Their hopes are dashed when the dice land on a one and a five, and a unique kind of pain grips their hearts as they watch the rhinoceros token slide all the way toward the center, only to stop right at its edge.

 _Now the ground  
begins to rift.  
And up will flow  
a scarlet gift._

For what feels like the hundredth time today, they all feel the sudden quaking of the earth under their feet. But this is different. This is instant. Powerful. As if the earth is seized by a pair of god-like hands and shaken with all of its unearthly might. They all fall to the floor, Parvati hitting her head on a piece of the nearby wall, giving her a deep gash on her forehead. Dean does his best to steady himself, but it's no use. There is a moment of relief as a deafening crack splits the air, and single, enormous crack appears in the ground between them. As if those same divine hands were now pulling the earth apart, Lavender, Parvati, and Seamus are on one side of the crack, while Dean and the game are on the other side. The gap between them grows wider by the second as a rift begins to open up. It not only tears the castle in twain, but the seismic forces travel all the way underground.

Seeing the game board teetering over the edge, Dean leans forward to close it and pull it to safely. As he does, he looks down into the cavern opening up between his friends and him. At the very bottom, a brilliant red light shines from deep below, a wave of intense heat hitting Deans face, making his eyes water even more. The churning magma from underground rises higher and higher up toward Dean, causing him to grab the game and hurl himself backwards away from it.

"Dean!" Seamus cries out.

But he is interrupted as a wall of red lava rises up from the rift in the earth, falling back down in fiery splashes. What was left of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy begins to fall into feeble pieces as the incredible natural force of two tectonic plates tearing apart from one another breaks every single enchantment protecting the castle from ruin.

Dean crawls along the edge of the rift, desperately trying to think of some way of making it back to the others. But each second he spends fruitlessly thinking is another ten feet of space in between the growing cavern walls. Before he can think of anything even remotely resembling a plan, the floor caves out from underneath. Adrenaline overrides the disease crippling his body, and he braces for impact as the fifth floor collides with the fourth, which collides with the third, the second, until finally he can feel through the stunning shocks coursing through his buttocks, that they've reached the ground floor.

As more lava continues to erupt from the mantle below, it pools on the surface. The thick, viscous mixture of bright red, partially-melted rocks slithers over the ground. Dean has to scurry away quickly to avoid being burned by the searing fluid. He also just barely manages to grab the game board before it can be engulfed in lava. He tries his best to stand on his own two feet, even as the ground continues to tremble beneath him.

Looking all around the grounds, he sees more fissures opening up, with more lava exploding up from underground. Turning form one direction to the other, Dean tries to find some place to escape the lava, but finds no such sanctuary. The sickness finally starting to catch up with him, Deans over and throws up a little before hacking out a few bloody coughs. Under normal circumstances, he figures he'd be able to out run the lava. But in his current condition – lungs on fire, stomach churning, head spinning – he knows he'd never make. However, as he watches the lava spreading out around him, he notices that it spreads around the immense chunks of stone rubble scattered about the ruined keep. Looking for a particularly large piece, Dean settles on a fifteen foot high triangular chunk with a flat top. Clinging to the game under his arm, Dean sprints toward the chunk, and scrambles up one of its slanted edges with all of his remaining strength and energy. When he finally reaches the plateau at top, he falls to his, breathing rapidly like a sick dog. Having earned this moment to relax, Dean pays no attention to the lava passing around his little island, the rock resisting the heat.

Feeling completely drained, Dean closes his eyes, though he can still hear Hogwarts cracking apart and burning to the ground all around him. He can hear the exploding of lava up from the tears in the earth, and continuous cracking and breaking of the castle walls. Huge pieces of rock collide with the ground in loud crashes. He's not entirely sure – he's open to the poissibilty that he's just imagining it – but over the cacophony of destruction all around, he swears he can hear the screams of the other Hogwarts students trying to flee the devastation.

Lavender's words come to his mind, in an even more exhausted plea. _I can't do this._

Even though the game is still sitting under his arm, even though his piece is only four spaces from the center, Dean can't bring himself to open it back up. What was he thinking? How could he and the others possibly have contended with something so powerful, it could create volcanoes where before there was peaceful, flat earth? How could they possibly have stood a chance against a force that could summon the most dangerous beast of the wizarding world, only to conjure something even more powerful just one turn later? He can feel the nundu's breath working its way deeper and deeper into his system. Each breath is now a weak cough, a light spray of blood coming up with each hack. As he feels his strength slowly ebbing away, Dean's weakened turns to other thoughts.

 _What's so wrong with being unremarkable anyway?_ He thinks. _Seamus and I were happy. Things were going good for us. What did we need dangerous adventures for? So what if Harry Potter or whoever else was famous? Is this what Harry had to go through when finding the Philosopher's Stone? Or fighting Slytherin's basilisk? If it was, then I don't care how famous or rich or whatever else he is. I'll gladly take a quiet life in the background over something like this any day._

Dean feels something on his face, something cool and soft. He feels it on his forehead, before quickly feeling it again on his cheek. Rain begins to fall gently onto him. Opening his blood-shot eye, he sees the rain floating down from the thick clouds overhead, which had been hovering over the school forebodingly for the last few days. Finally, it seems, they release their watery relief.

The cool water falls onto the growing lake of lava. With each drop that strikes the burning flow, a high hissing escapes from the surface, followed by a small burst of steam. When it's just a few drops, this is barely noticeable. But as the rain grows heavier and faster, great billows of steam begin to drift over the lava, which cools, hardens into stark black rock, and cracks with the sudden mixture of hot and cold. The fissure where the lava erupts from remain ablaze with brilliant orange light, but all around Dean, the growing pools of lava stop where they are, releasing clouds of steam as they metamorphose into hard rock.

A strange sound rings through the misty air. It is a long, haunting song that somehow manages to feel somber and elegant, yet fills Dean with a new kind of strength. He opens his eyes just in time to see a magnificent scarlet and gold bird approach him from the air, flapping its wings quickly as it prepares to land. To his surprise, it lands right on top of his chest. Fawkes is surprisingly light weight considering his size. Leaning down close to Dean's face with his swan-like neck, Fawkes look almost as if he's about to kiss the boy. Instead, small drops of water begin to trickle down from his dark eyes right into Dean's mouth.

The effect is instantaneous. The water is refreshingly cool, and yet fills Dean with a comforting kind of warmth. A few more drops land on his tongue, and he manages to swallow them with his dry throat. Within moments, the burning pain begins to vanish from his lungs. Each inhalation and exhalation feels like a true breath of fresh air again, instead of a constant struggle to keep from hacking up more blood. Dean's head begins to clear, the dizziness leaving him gradually until he feels he can sit up, if not for the phoenix perched on his chest.

 _Of course!_ Dean thinks, remembering what Dumbledore said. _Healing powers!_

As if on cue, Fawkes spreads his wings and pushes off from Dean's chest, ascending into the misty air with a few powerful flaps. As he circles overhead, he lets out another bout of eerie phoenix song which fills Dean with the kind of warm encouragement that normally comes from the support of a close friend. It gives Dean the energy he needs to get to his knees and open up the game board. He stares at his own elephant token, standing just four spaces away from the circular center. Remembering the disappointment they'd all received when Lavender's piece failed to make it to the center on her second roll, Dean feels a sense of pressure.

But before Dean can pick up the dice, he sees something out in front of him. Hidden in the dense fog roving over the newly-formed black rock, Dean sees a pair of yellow lights shining through the mist and the dark. At first he thinks it might be a pair of head lights on a lorry, only to remember the faint chances that a lorry would find itself on the Hogwarts grounds. Besides – these lights are over twenty feet off the ground.

All around the yellow, circular lights a dark shape materializes, growing larger and more in focus as it prowls closer to Dean through the fog. Finally, Dean can make out the face of the nundu, crouched low as it moves silently toward him, its paws not making a single sound as they push against the still-warm volcanic stone. Between the dark of the coming evening, the rain, and the fog, it takes Dean a while to make out the distinct pattern of dark spots lining it short muzzle and wide, purposeful eyes. Its jaw hangs slightly slack, its pink tongue dangling slightly through its lips.

Dean can't bring himself to move as the nundu comes to a sudden halt, peering down at him, as if preparing to strike. If Dean can get the right roll, then it won't matter what the nundu does – by the game's own rules, it will all be over. But he also knows that the chances of getting the right roll are slim at best, and the nundu is in the perfect position to absolutely obliterate him. On the other hand, seeing as how Dean knows perfectly well that he is hardly a substitute for 100 full-grown, fully-trained wizards, the choice becomes very plain: either take his turn, or be cat food.

Just as he tries to take the dice, the nundu snarls ferociously, swinging its right paw forward at Dean, crouching over the game board. Dean feels the naked, leathery skin of its padded underside smack him in the cheek an instant before the entire world dissolves in a dark, blurry mass of shapes and colors. The scene doesn't get any clearer until Dean crashes back to the ground. His fall is broken slightly by a small pool formed as the pouring rain collects in one of the smaller fissures, but the impact is still enough to wind him. Recovering from the stunning force of the nundu's assault, Dean struggles just to get to his knees. The cold water helps to snap him back to his right mind, which is what causes him to begin looking around anxiously. "Game…" he mutters to himself under the din of the rain, "where's the game?"

But there is no sign of it anywhere nearby, a problem not helped by the fact that the sun is surely setting somewhere behind the clouds above. What Dan can see are the glowing yellow eyes of the nundu as it zeros in on his location, crouching down low before springing from its position, moving with startling speed and agility for an animal so massive.

Another note of phoenix song rises over the rain. Dean looks up to try and catch a glimpse of Fawkes, but instead feels something soft land on top of his head. Taking it in his hands, Dean feels that it is some kind of large piece of fabric, mostly bundled up. Unwrapping it, Dean finds a wide, circular brim below a tall point, like a witch or wizard's hat. But as he stares inside the brim, he makes out something sitting inside the hat; something long, thin, and shining red and silver. With the nundu bearing down on him in great bounds, Dean reaches inside the hat and grabs the mysterious item inside.

It is a sword; a sharp, thin ruby-encrusted silver sword, with a blade far too long to the dimensions of the hat. Though grateful to now have some kind of additional weaponry at his disposal, Dean is unsure of what to do. A sword is a far cry from a wand, and his knowledge of sword play consists of watching the _Star Wars_ films. But with the nundu closing the distance between them, Dean grabs the hilt with both hands and hold is out in front him, pointing the tip straight at the oncoming giant.

The nundu pounces forward, launching an untold number of tons straight into the air before plummeting back to the earth, its paws outstretched to engulf Dean. In an act of desperation, Dean closes his eyes just as the nundu is about to land, and spins around in place, holding the sword aloft as he does. He feels the blade collide with something hard, though it continues pass through rather smoothly. This is accompanied by a painful yelp from the nundu, which leaps backwards slightly. Opening his eyes, Dean sees that the nundu is holding its right paw off the ground, a trail of dark blood gushing from a slash on its padded underside. Looking at the sword, Dean sees an accompanying stain of blood on the silver blade. Dean's heart suddenly fills with a mixture of great personal pride and complete, unrelenting terror.

The nundu turns to look at Dean once more, its fleshy muzzle curling back to show off its fearsome set of fangs. It sets its injured paw down on the ground, though Dean notices the traces of a limp. Rather than launch another frontal assault, the nundu circles Dean anxiously, pacing back and forth, turning in place every 200 feet or so. It keeps its ears flared back to remind him of its fury.

With a snarling roar, the nundu pounces into action. Rather than just strike Dean out right, it darts forward, only to recede back to its starting point. It does this several times, in several different directions. Dean feels the uncanny sensation that he is experiencing a rodent's-eye-vie-w of a game of cat and mouse. Dean tries to slash at the nundu as its paws land beside him, but it is much more careful this time.

In a flash, Dean feels one of the paws slam down on his leg, forcing him down to the ground. The other paw rises over him, attempting to pin down his right arm. Dean's brain plots his course of action in less time than it takes him to blink. He throws his right arm upward as the paw comes down. Dean's thrust is not particularly strong, but the nundu is, and the swords is extremely sharp. This combination is what allows the blade to be embedded deep within the nundu's fleshy paw, like a nail shoved into the paw of a very angry lion. The nundu lets out a howling roar, frozen in place for a few seconds before attempting to pull away from the sword. But the sword is stuck so deeply within that the nundu has to yank hard, and with Dean still anchored to the ground by its other paw, this makes dislodging the blade all the more painful. With one sudden motion, the nundu pulls its paw back, the red blade sliding out of the wound and clanging on the rock below. The nundu steps back to nurse its injured paw, licking the wound tenderly. Dean slowly gets to his feet with the bloody sword in hand, wondering what will happen next.

But though he was hoping that the nundu would be driven away by this injury, the mean flash in its yellow eyes indicates that Dean has only managed to make it angrier. With one careless swipe of its left paw, it throws him to one side, only to catch him with the other. It begins battering him around like a kitten with a particularly fun toy. Each bat with the paw causes large, dark bruises to form all over Dean's body, and it's taking all of his strength just to keep a grip on the sword. The world around him is spinning so fast that Dean has no hope of actually using the word for anything.

After this happens for several more minutes, with Dean feeling the strong urge to vomit, he feels himself fall back onto the black stone with a hard thud. Still too dizzy to make anything out, he sees the front legs of the nundu towering over him like pillars of an ancient temple. As he makes out more and more detail, he looks up to see that the nundu is no longer looking at him. And with his brain no longer being tossed around like cricket ball, he can now feel the low rumbling coming up through the rocks.

Something huge barrels over the igneous rock and slams directly into the side of the nundu, forcing it back several feet. It is followed immediately by another, then another. One by one, the great stampeding herd slams head first into the nundu, and even though it dwarfs even the elephants of the herd in terms of size, the sheer number of beasts, and the speed at which they move, means that every collision is a great blow to the beast.

Not wanting to be trampled himself, Dean rolls himself into the pool of water he'd landed in earlier, hoping the stampede will keep to warm rock. His hope appears to be fulfilled as the rhinoceros, elephants, and zebras thunder past, without a single care as to the monstrous creature with they've just stormed through.

Finally, when the last of the rhinoceros shambles by, panting to keep up, Dean crawls out of the water. The nundu is crumpled up in a small pile before him, mostly obscured in shadow. Given the odd shapes and angles jutting out from its body, and the bizarre twitching of certain extremities, Dean decides he's much better off not knowing what the full extent of the damage is.

He uses the sword as a sort of makeshift cane to haul himself to his feet, surveying the dark, basalt covered grounds. Breathing heavily, Dean wonders how on earth he is supposed to find the game board hidden in the rain and the fog and the dark. But this problem solves itself when he makes out the brilliantly colored phoenix soaring toward him, something large and rectangular clutched in its talons. Fawkes drops the game in front of Dean before landing by his side, folding his wings.

"Thanks Fawkes," Dean says, sitting down beside the phoenix looking him in the eye. Fawkes gives no obvious sign of understanding, given his unmoving avian face. But with a short click of his beak, Dean knows that the message has been received.

Opening up the game board, he opens up the compartment and pulls out the dice. But as he peers at the two dice in his hand, Dean realizes that it's become too dark to see the markings. Given that the piece will move on its own, Dean doesn't consider this to be a problem, especially on the off chance that he'll win the next turn. Figuring that the game has almost certainly unleashed the worst of what it has to offer, Dean shrugs and drops the dice on the game board.

He strains his eyes as he looks over the center to see the words that form. But instead of a small rhyme, there is only one word that materializes from the green haze, shining in bright letters. It is partially obscured by Dean's elephant token, which slides onto the center and remains in place there. But Dean can still very clearly read the word in the center. Declaring in one loud voice, he calls out:

" _ **JUMANJI!"**_

Something changes. He can't tell what it is, or how it happened, but something inside Dean tells him that a great shift is taking place all around him. As the seconds pass by, he can hear the rising howl of a great wind around him, and yet he doesn't feel anything on his skin. The air feels calm, even though it sounds furious. Looking back at the center of the game, Dean sees what look like dark clouds forming, highlighted by flashes of what look like tiny green bolts of lightning.

Something flies past Dean's head. It's too fast for him to see it, but several others follow in its wake. He catches just enough information to tell that they are the camel spiders that appeared in Hagrid's hut. The begin to rise into the air, as if caught in a powerful wind storm, though Dean still feels nothing. They are soon joined by the five hyenas from Dumbledore's office, their legs pounding against the air frantically, as if trying to run away from something.

One by one, each of the different things to come from the game begins to appear, caught up in the unseen winds swirling all around him. The monkeys fly past the two black warthogs. The cannibals, clawing the air as if trying to resist the force pulling them from the castle, get tangled up in the masses of green plants that are helplessly trapped by the winds. From behind him, the stampede – all of its members still pawing at the air, as if still running – are slowly pulled backward toward the swirling mass of bodies , spinning around as if in a cyclone. The smaller hazards, such as the ants and the leeches, can't be made out, but Dean is certain that they are in there as well.

After a while, they spin so furiously that Dean loses track of any of their shapes. Instead, they simply look like amorphous masses of color, blending into each other like streaks of wet paint blown across a blank canvas by a powerful gust.

The colorful twister begins to condense and thin as it touches down onto the center. It's as if the game board is actually sucking everything it had conjured previously back inside, depositing them all in a separate world contained entirely within the game board itself. Though the creatures themselves have lost all sense of form, Dean can still hear their distressed cries – the laughing of the hyenas, the hollering of the monkeys, the trumpeting of the elephants. As the final remnants of the cyclone disappear inside the game, a sound like the crack of thunder splits the night air, and a blinding flash of green lights up the night, forcing Dean to shield his eyes.


	11. Chapter 11: Undone

Dean keeps his eyes shut tight, not wanting the intense green light to fry his retinas. The scene has gone from a cacophony of blustery winds and pouring rain to pure silence. From behind his eyelids, he can feel the light begin to diminish, eventually reaching a point where he feels he could probably open his eyes without fear of permanent damage.

He blinks a few times, as if testing the waters to see if the light has reached a tolerable level. Expecting to see the Hogwarts grounds in one condition or another, he quickly realizes that he's actually inside. Opening his eyes fully, he sees that he is in Gryffindor tower, looing as pristine and well-kept as ever. There's no sign of any structural damage whatsoever, in fact it looks as if it's been recently cleaned. A small fire crackles gently in the fireplace. He is sitting at a table in the corner of the common room, and to his astonishment – Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati are all sitting around him as well. When last he had seen them, they were covered in bruises, scratches, and dirt. But sitting before him now, they all look as healthy as can be. Dean is not the only one surprised. Seamus is looking at him as if he's got two heads. Lavender pats her face down, as if checking to make sure there are no unsightly pimples.

Looking down at the table, Dean sees the game, lying open but with the four tokens lying scattered across the board.

The same thought appears in all of their heads. And as the realization washes over them, they all break out in wide, open smiles. Lavender and Parvati lean in and hug one another, tears of joy welling up in their eyes. Seamus just starts to laugh, which infects Dean in turn.

None of it ever happened. True to its word, the game – this powerful, eldritch artifact- had rewritten the very fabric of time itself, erasing all consequences of it being played. Dean tries to run through a mental check list of all the horrible things that had happened, which didn't happen now that time had been reset. In the end though, his mind is so utterly filled with joy, that he can;t bring himself to recall everything, and just settles for the fact that the whole lot has been undone.

Hermione's ginger puffball, Crookshanks the cat, comes trotting down from the girls' dormitory, curious as to what all the noise is about. Remembering that the cat had been one of the game's victims, Dean picks him up and gives him a kiss on his forehead, something the cat clearly resents if his struggling is anything to go by.

"Should I go get Scabbers?" Seamus asks, laughing at the squirming cat.

Dean laughs with him, letting Crooshanks go. "Think I'll pass on that one."

"What happened to you!?" Lavender asks suddenly, leaning across the table. "After the volcano, I mean, what did you do?"

Dean does his best to recall the events of the last catastrophic hour, which feels as if it had taken place on a whole other planet, in an entirely different lifetime. "Well," he begins, "After the rest of the castle fell apart, I had to find a place to get away from the lava. But then, it started raining, and the rain, it…well, it cooled the lava, turned it all to rock."

"Wow," Seamus says with a grin, "that sure was lucky."

"I'll say," Dean says. "I was feeling pretty out of it, you know, from the nundu's breath. I thought I was a goner, but then Dumbledore's Phoenix, Fawkes, he showed and healed me with his tears."

Parvati nods. "Right, he came to help us too. Lavender had already passed out by the time he got there," she says, turning to Lavender, who goes slightly pink.

Dean continues. "I was about to finish the game, but then the nundu showed up again. It swatted me with its paw," he says, miming the action dramatically, "sending me flying. It pretty much had me, but then…" and he finds that he has trouble explaining what exactly happened in a way that doesn't sound utterly ridiculous.

"So," Seamus says, trying to understand, "Fawkes dropped a hat on you, and you pulled a sword out of the hat?"

"Basically, yeah," Dean says with a shrug.

Deciding to go along with the story, Seamus says, "Alright, then what happened? You didn't kill it with a sword, did you?"

Dean shakes his head, "No, but I did keep it from crushing me like a bug. It still, you know, batted me around a bit, but I could stick it in the paws at least, that made it careful."

"So then how did you survive?" Parvati asks.

"Well," Dean says, continuing, "after a while, all those rhinos and elephants and stuff showed up, and they just charged right through it!" He slams his right hand, balled in a fist, into the flat palm of his left hand to signify the power of the charge.

"How were you not trampled?" Lavender asks.

"I hid in one of the cracks in the ground," Dean says.

"Wow!" Seamus says, looking about the most impressed Dean has ever seen him. "So what happened then? Did you take your turn?"

"Yeah, I did," Dean says.

"You must have gotten a really lucky roll then," Seamus says, crossing his arms.

"I guess so," Dean says with a shrug. Now that he thinks about it, he realizes that he never actually saw what number he rolled. "I-er, I mean, my piece made it to the center, and I called out 'jumanji,' and then…and then," and he spread his arms out wide for effect. "All the things that came out of the game were all sucked back inside."

"Inside?" Lavender asks, confused. "What do you mean, 'inside?'"

"Well," Dean says, inclining his head to one side, "when my piece reached the center, I saw something on that center space. There was this green light flashing…and then, everything was all spinning around, and…and it sort of all faded into these wispy colors, which were all sucked inside here," he says, pointing to the center. "Once everything went in, there was this big flash, and then-" and he finishes by gesturing to the room. "What about you lot, what happened to you?"

"We were feeling really awful," Lavender says. "But we were found by those horrible cannibals. They chased us through the corridors until we came across the rest of the students being evacuated. I guess McGonagall and Snape had already seen them off before, so they backed off the instant they saw the others."

"We were trying to tell Professor McGonagall that we needed to keep going," Parvati says, "but we must have looked rather terrible, because she insisted we see Madam Pomfrey first. We tried to tell her that there was no time, but then Lavender passed out. After that, there was no arguing with her."

Dean chuckles a bit to himself, imagining Professor McGonagall's reaction to seeing a student faint. "Yeah, I bet. What happened then?"

"We found Madam Pomfrey, and to be honest, she looked really worried," Parvati says. "I don't remember if we got around to telling her that it was nundu breath, because shortly after that, we all wound up back here."

"Thank God," Seamus says, sitting back down in one of the comfortable arm chairs by the fire.

"Well," Lavender asks, confused. "What should we do now?"

Dean turns back to look at the board, which looks more like an ordinary board game than ever before now that the tokens are lying impotently on their sides. He is hesitant to approach it, let alone touch it, afraid that the pieces might fly back to their starting points at any second, starting a new game before they can stop it. Dean reaches out and takes the pieces in hand, stowing them in the compartment where they were stored before. This action alone makes him feel more secure, a feeling that strengthens when he grabs the flaps and closes the game for the final time, savoring the sound of it snapping shut. "We've got to take it to Dumbledore."

"What are we going to tell him?" Seamus asks.

"Let's just tell him that it's a dark artifact and should be dealt with somehow," Dean says simply.

"But what if he asks us how we know?" Seamus asks. "What are we going to say, that we activated a curse that unleashed a jungle on the school, destroyed the entire castle, only to undo it all as if nothing ever happened? He'd never believe us!"

"Well, what do you think we should do?" Dean asks.

"Just chuck it in the lake!" Seamus says, putting up his hands as if the solution is obvious.

"Seamus," Dean says, "This thing is powerful enough to rip the castle apart, and then rewrite history so it never happened in the first place. Do you really think tossing it in the lake is going to make it go away?"

"It needs to go to the Ministry of Magic!" Lavender says firmly.

"Where to?" Seamus asks with a small chuckle. "To the Department of Magical Games and Sports?"

"More like the Department of Mysteries," Parvati says, eyeing the game apprehensively.

"I don't know about you lot," Dean say sternly, "But I trust Professor Dumbledore more than I trust the Ministry."

"Oh what do you know about the Ministry," Lavender says dismissively. "You're a muggle-born, you didn't even know there was a Ministry of Magic until three years ago!"

"First of all," Dean says, rounding on her, "I may be a muggle-born, I may not be a muggle-born. My Dad left my Mum before she could find out. But, okay, fine, I've only known about the Ministry of Magic for three years. And in those three years, they've sent Hagrid to Azkaban, let a mass murder escape from prison, and put _dementors_ at the gates to the school! So yeah, I don't trust those morons at the Ministry with anything nearly as powerful as this thing!"

"If you want to give it to Dumbledore," Seamus says, crossing his arms, "then go on, do it. But don't expect any of us to go with you."

Seamus' harsh tone strikes Dean as particularly hurtful. Just seconds ago, they were celebrating their impossible triumph, and now they're squabbling as if they hadn't just banded together to overcome insurmountable odds. But spite overcomes him as well, and he says to Seamus, "Fine!" and he picks up the game under his arm, and storms out of the portrait hole.

The instant he steps out in front of the Fat Lady, he regrets having done that. He considers briefly going back inside to apologize and work out a better solution. As he stands there thinking, the Fat Lady eyes him suspiciously and says, "Well…?"

"Nothing," Dean says, turning away and heading off toward Dumbledore's office. Walking through the corridors feels utterly surreal, like returning home after having spent a long time abroad. Passing students, enraptured with their own goings on, pay him little heed. He walks with a certain awkwardness in his gait, as if trying to hide a dark secret. A few eyes find their way to the game still clutched under his arm, some of them with a glint of confused curiosity. When one of them puts a hand to her ear, Dean can't help but wonder if she is hearing something that he cannot.

He finally reaches the gargoyle standing at the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Dean takes a moment to mentally travel back to that alternate reality to recall what password Dumbledore had used to get past the statue. "Uh… some kind of candy, I think…er, oh, uh, peppermint imps?"

The gargoyle steps to one side, allowing Dean access to the spiraling staircase leading up to the Headmaster's office like a stone escalator. Dean knocks at the door to the Headmaster's office three times. Not long after, Dumbledore's voice calls out warmly, "Enter."

Dean pushes the door open to reveal the elaborate, ornate office of Professor Dumbledore, lined with all manner of arcane, obscure magical instruments. The circular walls are covered with portraits of former Headmasters and Headmistresses of Hogwarts, all fast asleep in their frames. High up on his perch is the phoenix, Fawkes, who sits with wings folded, his vivid scarlet and golden plumage catching Deans eyes. The phoenix loos at him with silent interest. Not far below where Fawkes is perched, Albus Dumbledore sits scribbling something on a roll of parchment. He looks up at Dean through his half-moon spectacles, eyeing him with the same kind of surprised interest as Fawkes. "Ahh," he says, sitting up to look at Dean properly. "Good evening, Mr. Thomas.

"Good evening, Professor," Dean says simply.

"Might I interest you in a nice toffee? Perhaps a lemon drop?" Dumbledore says, pointing to a small tin on his desk.

"No thank you, Professor," Dean says as politely as possible.

"Suit yourself," Dumbledore says, popping a toffee in his mouth. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit this evening?"

"Professor, I…" Dean begins, only to find that no words are coming to him. He soon begins to wish that he had rehearsed his opening on the way up. "I, er….hmm…"

"I don't mean to be rude," Dumbledore says, putting down his quill. "But by any chance, did you wish to tell me something regarding the object under your arm?" he says, pointing to the game.

"Er…yes, sir," Dean says, taking the game out from under his arm and showing it in full to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore surveys the game intently, his eyes running over the cover like a pair of twinkling scanners. "Curious,:" Dumbledore says. "Please, take a seat, Mr. Thomas, and if you will, pleas set this down on my desk." Dumbledore takes out his wand, waving it lazily so that many of the objects sitting on its surface clear themselves away to make room. Dean sets the game down before taking a seat in front of Dumbledore's desk. "Do tell, Mr. Thomas," Dumbledore says, sitting up and looking Dean in the eyes, "Where did you find this?"

Dean's face blushes slightly as he says, "Well…actually, Fred and George Weasley too it from Mr. Filch's office. They gave it to Seamus Finnegan and me to hide for them so they wouldn't get caught."

"I see," Dumbledore says, his expression remaining the same. "But you decided to bring it to my attention regardless. Might I ask why?"

Dean swallows as he prepares for Dumbledore's likely dismissal. "I…er, well…I, I think it might be dangerous, sir."

Dumbledore says nothing at first, instead lowering his eyes back to the game. After a few moments of observing silently, Dumbledore reaches out and strokes the surface of the game board with his hands, just as McGonagall had done. "Hmm…" Dumbledore says, his eyebrows raising slightly. "And what about it suggests to you that it is dangerous?" Dean is lost for words. Looking away from Dumbledore he struggles to think of something sensible to say. But, as if sensing his dilemma , Dumbledore adds, "Because I quite agree – this object shows signs of both great age, and immense magical power. But – and I do ask your pardon for the assumption – usually young wizards such as yourself have not yet fine-tuned their magical sense to the point where they can detect such things."

"Oh, well…" Dean says with a shrug.

But Dumbledore continues. "My apologies for badgering you with questions, Mr. Thomas, but I must also ask how it was you knew the password to enter my office. I usually reserve that information for the staff, excepting certain serious cases of course."

Dean can't help but feel as if Dumbledore is accusing him of some kind of wrong-doing. Deciding that Dumbledore probably wouldn't know either way, he lies and says, "Professor McGonagall told me."

Dumbledore smiles and shakes his head slowly. "Please, Mr. Thomas, I have appreciated your honesty thus far, do not break the streak now. If you have don't something wrong, it is always best to be truthful about your actions, lest your dishonesty lead to more trouble."

Dean sighs through his nose. "It's not that Professor, it's just…you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you…"

Dumbledore straightens up slightly and says, "Whatever you have to say, Dean, I promise that I will listen. Though I cannot guarantee that I will believe you, I can at least promise you my full attention."

Feeling much more confident than before, Dean takes a deep breath and begins. "Okay…thank you Professor. So, this thing is actually a board game," Dean says, opening it up to reveal the interior, as innocuous looking as ever.

"I see," Dumbledore says, his eyes immediately going to the rules listed on the flaps. "And I take it you decided to play a round?"

"Yes Professor," Dean says, "It was me, Seamus Finnegan, Lavender Brown, and Parvati Patil." Dumbledore nods for him to continue. "When I rolled the dice ,the token moved the number of rolls, and then…then a message appeared in the center, here," he says, pointing to the pure black middle.

"What did the message say?" Dumbledore asks, growing curious.

Dean struggles to remember that far back. "Uh…sorry Professor, I can't remember it exactly, but it was something like, 'an army's on the path…' uh..'beware something something wrath,' it was a rhyme, that's all I can remember."

"I see," Dumbledore says. "What happened nest?"

"Then, thousands of huge ants came crawling through the stone walls in Gryffindor tower and started marching through the castle, eating everything in sight!"

Dumbledore does not say anything at first. He puts the tips of his fingers together and eyes Dean curiously with one eyebrow slightly raised. "If, as you say Dean, thousands of carnivorous ants appeared in Gryffindor Tower, I would think that somebody would have noticed and brought this to the attention of everyone else in the school."

"See, that's the thing, Professor," Dean says, pointing to one of the flaps. "It says here that, once somebody wins the game, everything that cameo out of the game will vanish. And that's what happened!"

It takes a Dumbledore a few seconds to realize what Dean is saying. When he does, his eyebrows rise to their highest point, and his mouth opens in tight 'o' shape beneath his layers of facial hair. "If I am to understand you correctly, Dean," Dumbledore says, "You, Mr. Finnegan, Ms. Brown, and Ms. Patil played a game, in which various hazards were conjured for you to face. After you successfully faced them all, and somebody won, the game was able to rewrite the course of events to make it so that none of this ever happened?"

"Yes sir," Dean says. "At one point, you brought us up to your office to play. You were hoping to protect us. But that's how I knew the password to your office."

"Yes that does sound in character for me," Dumbledore says with a nod. Curious," he says, stroking the hair under his chin. "Very curious… of course, it would strain credulity to believe in a set of circumstances that never happened, and which have left little to no trace of their occurrence," Dumbledore muses aloud, causing Dean to look slightly crestfallen. "However," Dumbledore begins again, "As I said previously, this game possess highly unusual, and extraordinarily powerful magic. And given that you are unlikely to sense that at such a young age, it does beg the question of how you were able to recognize this artifact as dangerous. It would also explain why you cannot even seem to look at it for more than a few seconds without flinching."

Dean doesn't even notice this behavior, but he can very easily believe it. He smiles at Dumbledore. "So you believe me then, Professor?"

"Yes, Dean, I do," Dumbledore says, the ever present twinkling of his eyes shining brilliantly from behind his half-moon spectacles. "How long did this series of events persist before you were able to put a stop to it?"

"Uh…just about a day," Dean says tentatively.

"And what other hazards came out of the game besides flesh-eating ants?" Dumbledore asks with great interest.

With an uncomfortable feeling in his gut, Dean reaches back in his memory to beginning of the game. "After me, it was Seamus' turn," Dean says. "When he rolled, all these plants came out of the game. They grew all over the castle, on the inside and outside. The whole school looked like a jungle."

A jungle, you say," Dumbledore says, a smile twitching underneath this mustache. "A somewhat amusing thought, though excuse me, I expect the actual situation to be far more threatening."

"It was," Dean says, "Some of the plants shot poisonous barbs, and others tried to eat some of the students."

"Decidedly nasty," Dumbledore says. "Though I would thin Professor Sprout would be excited… but what else, Dean?"

"After that was the river, and the hippo," Dean says, continuing. "That's when you decided to take us to your office to protect us."

"I see," Dumbledore says. "I trust I was an able guardian."

"You were," Dean says nodding. "In fact, you were too good. After the hippo, you saved us from a pack of hyenas. That's when the game gave you sleeping sickness to keep us from helping us anymore."

"Oh dear, most unfair," Dumbledore says with a shake of his head. "I see nothing in the game's rules that forbid assistance."

"Yeah, that's what you said before," Dean says, grinning slightly. "But on that turn, the game let my piece move twice as far along the board. You said it was a trade off, the game put you out while allowing me to get closer to winning."

"Ah, a clever deduction on would-be Dumbledore's part," Dumbledore says, smiling to himself. "And after that?"

"Then there were the monkeys, who were more mischievous than dangerous…kind of like a bunch of hairy little Peeves…and then next there were the cannibals…Seamus accidentally ended up eating…"

"Please, continue," Dumbledore says pleasantly, urging him to keep going,

"Right," Dean says, "After that was….uh, the leeches, I think? Oh wait, no, then there was the stampede. All these rhinos, elephants, and stuff just came, like, charging through the castle, bursting out onto the grounds!"

"Oh dear!" Dumbledore says. "I dread to think about the damage done to the castle."

"If you think that's bad," Dean says with a chuckle, "after the leeches, there was a mudslide on the Southern part of the castle. Half of Hogwarts just collapsed into the lake!"

Dumbledore's eyes go wide. "Merlin's beard!" he says leaning forward.

"Yup," Dean says. "After that there were the camel spiders…nasty little spider, scorpion type things….they weren't so bad, but after that, there were these…well, I'm not sure what they were exactly. They were like giant, black pigs, and they could turn invisible."

"Tebos, I believe," Dumbledore says, "If my recollections of _Fantastic Beasts, and Where to Find Them_ are correct."

"Right," Dean says. He decides to skip over what happened to Hagrid, for Dumbledore's sake. "And speaking of _Fantastic Beasts_ , after that, a nundu came out!"

"Yes, I was afraid that might happen," Dumbledore says somewhat gravely. "I was sensing an African theme. But you survived its attack?" Dumbledore asks, to which Dean nods. "Most extraordinary. How did you manage to avoid falling victim to its noxious breath?"

"Well, we didn't," Dean says. "It got us pretty good with that. At first, we climbed up one of the towers to escape it, but it actually climbed up the side of the tower from the outside to get at us! But when it started smashing up the top of the tower, the whole thing collapsed. We had to use levitation charms to keep from falling to our deaths."

"A most ingenious use of a simple charm," Dumbledore says with a nod.

"So, for the last thing that came out of the game," Dean says, setting the scene for the end, "was a volcano! These huge cracks in the ground opened up and lava erupted from underneath! It pretty much destroyed the entire castle!" Dean sees that Dumbledore loos grave, but he says nothing. Dean continues. "I got separated from the others, and I had to find a way to escape the lava. I climbed on top of a piece of rubble. By this point, the nundu's breath was really getting to me. I couldn't even stand, and I could barely breathe. That's when…" and he looks up at Fawes, still perched overhead, watching them.

Dumbledore loos at Fawkes as well, smiling. "Ahh, I see. Fawkes was generous enough to shed a tear for you, I imagine?"

"A few, yeah," Dean says. "I felt loads better after that. I was about to take my turn – I had the game, see – but then the nundu came back! I thought I was done for, but then.." and Dean pauses, once more afraid that this part of the story might sound silly.

"Yes, Dean?" Dumbledore says, gently urging him on.

"Well…I can't say I know how this works," Dean says, "but I think Fawkes dropped a hat over me, and I caught it. When I looked inside the hat, I pulled out…I pulled out a sword."

But far from looking confused, Dumbledore beams at Dean, folding his hands together. "I take it this was sword you pulled out?" he says, turning in his chair slightly to reveal a long, ruby-encrusted silver sword sitting in a glass case behind his desk.

Dean's eyes go wide, and he says, "Yeah, that's the one!"

Still smiling, Dumbledore says, "This is the sword of Godric Gryffindor; one of the only remaining historical artifacts belonging to him. The other one being that," and he points upward toward one of the shelves behind Dean.

When Dean looks to where Dumbledore is pointing, he sees an old, tattered-looking hat sitting beside a pile of books, looking as utterly unremarkable as can be. But Dean recognizes it instantly. "The Sorting Hat?" he asks Dumbledore.

Dumbeldore nods. "Yes, Dean. The Sorting Hat is one Hogwart's most devoted servants. Its duty is to the school, to its staff, and – or course – to its students. And should one of Gryffindor's own students find themselves facing great danger, with the daring neve and chivalry that set Gryffindors apart, then the Sorting Hat may bequeath to that student Gryffindor's own sword. Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled this sword out of that hat," he says, pointing from the sword to the hat.

Dean feels a warm sensation growing in his stomach, which causes him to lower his head slightly, as if in a bow. "Oh, I…I did not now that, Professor," he says simply.

Dumbledore gets up from his chair, and begins making his way around his desk toward Dean. "Let me tell you a little secret."

Dean's eyes grow wider. "A secret, Professor?"

Dumbledore nods. "Yes. I'm always wary of the sorting process, myself. Determining a student's core qualities at such a young age, and then reinforcing them during their time at school, it… well, let's just say that sometimes I think we sort too early," and he looks away from Dean for a moment, as if contemplating another matter. "But," he says, quickly coming back to the subject at hand, "if you're story is to be believed – which we have already established, I do - then it would seem the Sorting Hat knew exactly what it was doing when it placed you in Gryffindor."

Dean bows his head with a smile and says, "Thank you, Professor."

Dumbledore smiles at him yet again. "What happened after that?"

"Well, I couldn't kill the nundu," Dean says, "But I did keep it distracted enough for all those rhinos and elephants and zebras and stuff to come charging around crash right into it!"

"Oh dear," Dumbledore says. "No details, if you please Dean."

"Yes, Professor," Dean says. "But after that, I took my last turn, made it to the center, and everything was all, like, sucked back inside the game. After that, all four of us wound up back Gryffindor tower as if none of it had ever happened."

"And thank goodness for that," Dumbledore says, putting a hand on his chest. "Now, Dean…as much as I admire your courage, determination, and hard work – not to mention that of your fellow Gryffindors – I'm afraid there's not much I can do to reward your actions, at least not as far as House points or special services to the school are concerned, since, technically speaking, none of these things happened."

Dean looks slightly crestfallen. "Yeah, I suppose so."

Dumbledore looks sympathetic. "I suppose it must be somewhat frustrating to go through all that, save everybody, and then not receive any kind of praise or reward."

Not wanting to appear vain or juvenile, Dean shakes his head and says, "No, it's alright Professor, really! I'm just happy to have everything back to normal."

"Of course you are," Dumbledore says, "as would anyone in your situation. But it is only natural that, after all the work and danger you put yourselves through, you would like some kind of recognition. We all like to have our greatest deeds acknowledged to some degree."

"Well…" Dean begins cautiously, "It would be nice if people didn't think Seamus and I were so unremarkable…"

Dumbledore's eyebrows raise slightly. "Unremarkable?" Dumbledore says. "What makes you think that you're unremarkable?"

"Well, Fred and George Weasley for one," Dean says with a small side glance. "They said that's why they gave us the game to hide in the first place – because we just kind of 'fade into the background,'" he says, drawing quotation mars with his fingers. "And I mean, he's not wrong. Compared to people like Harry Potter, we're just sort of –"

But Dumbledore holds up his hand, and Dean stops. "I am 111 years old. I have encountered many incredible and terrible things in that time. But do you know what I have never met in over a century's worth of life?"

"What's that, Professor?"

"Somebody who was unremarkable," Dumbledore says. "You have just told me that you and three of your friends have come back from an adventure the likes of which this castle has never seen. You have faced dangers the vast majority of full grown wizards have never even dared to dream of. If I may speak on the behalf of your best self, how dare you think of yourself as unremarkable?"

Dean is nearly stunned by Dumbledore's words, which he utters with a combination of gentle warmth and deep conviction. "I…uh…" he's not at all sure of how to respond.

"This may be hard to understand, speaking as one who is famous to one who is not, but fame and 'greatness' are very overrated qualities Dean. Fame can sometimes create or reinforce the illusion that the world is divided into big things and little things; important people and unimportant people. This is perhaps the most dangerous lie human beings cling to. In reality, the world is made up of nothing but little things. Life is nothing more or less than a collection of small moments between people – a conversation over breakfast, a game of quidditch, a joke here or there. There are no big things, Dean; the little things just add up quickly.

"So what I ask you is this: what are the little things in your life?" Dumbledore asks him. "You need not tell me, but think about them."

Doing as Dumbledore tells him, he thinks about every stupid little joke he's shared with Seamus during potions class, every meat pie he's ever eaten in the great hall, every moment spent on a broom stick, practicing his chasing sills. After a few moments, he suddenly realizes how lost he would be as a person if not for all of these 'little things' as Dumbledore calls them.

Dumbledore speaks once more. "You have demonstrated courage and skill, traits that I've no doubt will be called upon again…perhaps even sooner than either of us know… but please never believe for a moment that a lack of fame makes you unremarkable or unimportant. You have already definitely proven yourself otherwise."

Dean is so taken aback by Dumbledore's kind words, that he can't bring himself to say anything. He swallows, and puts his hands together over his waist. Finally, with a dry mouth, he says, "Than you Professor."

With a smile under his beard and a twinkle in his eye, Dumbledore nods. "Now then," he says, turning back to his des. "Theirs is still the matter of what to do with this," and he points to the game.

"Seamus wanted to throw it into the lake," Dean says.

Dumbledore chuckles slightly, but shakes his head. "Oh goodness me, no. The merpeople would be quite upset with me, and I have to stay on their good side if…well, I suppose I shouldn't say anything more." Before Dean can inquire further about Dumbledore's mention of merpeople, he continues. "I must confess, this game does unnerve. Despite being immensely powerful and dangerous, it has managed to conceal itself from greater notoriety, most likely because of its ability to undo everything that it does. Ideally, I would like to examine it more thoroughly, but I am also quite anxious to get it out of the castle, away from students."

"So what will you do with it Professor?" Dean asks.

Dumbledore takes a moment to think. "I think I'm going contact a very old…well, not so much friend anymore," and for the briefest of moments, Dean thinks he sees a flicker of pain or grief in Dumbledore's twinkling blue eyes, "But he is very well acquainted with the dark arts, and hopefully he might tell me more about this object in the hopes of finding a proper place for it. For now, however, I think it will be quite safe here in my office.

He picks up the game and takes it over to a wooden cabinet on one side of the room. When he opens, all Dean can see is a wide stone basin, something silvery glimmering in its center. Dumbledore stows the game under the basin, putting it out of sight from a cursory examination of the room.

"Oh, wait, Professor," Dean says, suddenly remembering. "The game, it…it makes a drumming noise."

"Drumming?" Dumbledore asks.

"Yeah," Dean says, "I don't know for sure, but I think that it does that to try and lure new people to play it."

"I see," Dumbledore says. "Well, rest assured Dean that anyone who comes to my office complaining of drums will not be playing this game any time soon. And I'm sure that I will find a way to deal with resisting the temptation myself."

"Alright," Dean says cautiously, "As long as you're sure."

"Quite sure, thank you," Dumbledore says with a smile. "Now then, is there anything else you wish to tell me?"

"I, uh…I guess there is the little matter of Fred George Weasley…not as if we can hand it back over to them," Dean says.

"Quite right," Dumbledore says. "I will deal with Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley myself, not to worry."

"Are they going to get into trouble?" Dean asks, feeling somewhat guilty.

Dumbledore considers the matter for a second. "Well, I can't say that I can condone their taking things from Mr. Filch. On the other than, they have – inadvertently of course – brought the danger of this game to our attention. It won't be anything too laborious – a few house points will probably be taken."

"Yeah, fair enough," Dean says. "Well, Professor, I think that just about covers it"

Dumbledore nods. "Very well. If there is nothing else you wish to say, then you are free to go."

"Thank you, Professor," Dean says. Turning around in place, he strides confidently out of Dumbledore's office, down the circular stone staircase, and bac to Gryffindor tower.


End file.
